Chapter 294. It’s Good To Have You Back

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Song Rui pulled up in front of the house and said with a soft chuckle, “Let’s wait a moment before going inside. I should give my family a call first.”

“Is Yangyang at home?” Fan Jialuo asked nervously.

“Yes, by now, Wennuan should have picked him up.” Song Rui said, glancing at his watch as he dialed a number.

A moment later, the call connected, and a strong voice came through the receiver, “See your car outside. Just come in and say it. What’s with the phone call?”

“Didn’t you tell me to find a partner before? Well, I found one, and I’m bringing him home today. I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you wouldn’t be caught off guard.” Song Rui said cheerfully.

“You’re pretty quick, kid. Bring him in then, our whole family is here.” The Elderly man urged, “Come in quickly, everyone is waiting for you to eat.”

Song Rui agreed, hung up the phone, and then took Fan Jialuo’s hand and walked into the house.

Song DaBo came down from the second floor and announced, “Song Rui is bringing his girl, umm, his boy…… long story short, he’s found a partner and is bringing them back for us to meet today.”

“What? So fast? I was just trying to persuade him to go on a blind date yesterday, and he refused.” Song Wennuan was in the middle of sneaking food from the dining area when she heard this, so shocked that the food slipped right out of her hand.

Xu Yiyang’s face was full of rejection, “Song Rui Gege wouldn’t like anyone else.” But he couldn’t explain who was actually left besides everyone else.

“What does this guy do? Is he reliable? Can he stand Song Rui’s bad temper?” Song Wennuan asked repeatedly.

“Don’t ask anymore, they’ll be coming in soon.” As soon as Song DaBo finished speaking, the door to the hall was pushed open, and Song Rui led a young man in. He first squatted down, took out a pair of new slippers from the cabinet, and then personally helped the man take off his leather shoes and put on the slippers. His attitude was as attentive as could be.

He ignored the man’s repeated attempts to say, I can do it myself.

Song Wennuan and Xu Yiyang bolted from the dining area, practically burning with jealousy. The newcomer had obviously secured the top spot. If not, how else could they explain Song Rui’s arrogant, standoffish, and prick of a personality treating someone like absolute royalty?

As the two were feeling jealous, they saw the young man raise his head, revealing a handsome face as bright as the moon. His dark pupils first locked onto Xu Yiyang, then he curved his crimson lips into a light smile.

Song Wennuan was stunned by that breathtaking smile, her heart pounding faster and faster, and she even felt as if she had fallen in love with him. But this love was not romantic love, but a love of respect, like fallen leaves returning to the earth, a gentle breeze blowing through the forest, making one involuntarily want to exclaim——you have finally returned.

Song Wennuan clutched her chest and stood frozen in place.

Xu Yiyang suddenly burst into tears, and then rushed over like a small cannonball, hugging the young man’s waist and rubbing his head against his chest.

“Gege, gege, waaaaah.” Xu Yiyang cried so hard he could barely speak.

The young man gestured with his hand to his head and said with a smile, “You’ve grown a lot taller.”

“How could he not grow taller? He’s already started junior high this year.” Song Rui came up from behind and hugged the two of them.

Fan Jialuo rubbed the child’s head and asked, “Do you remember Gege?”

Xu Yiyang shook his head, crying as he said he didn’t remember. Yet, he immediately added, “But I really, really love you, Gege. You’re going to stay for good from now on, right?”

“Of course, from now on we’ll be family, okay?” Fan Jialuo squatted halfway down and asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Okay, okay, don’t go.” Xu Yiyang hurriedly clung to his neck and pulled him into the room.

Song Wennuan bowed deeply, saying with trepidation, “Please, please. It’s such a pleasure to meet you. May I ask your name?” A name was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn’t remember it. The joy in her heart surged like a tidal wave.

Song DaBo was dumbfounded, feeling that the two children’s attitudes had changed too quickly.

“Hello, my name is Fan Jialuo. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Please take care of me.” Fan Jialuo nodded politely.

Before Song DaBo could even exchange a few polite words, Song Wennuan and Xu Yiyang grabbed the man’s hands on either side and shoved him into the dining area, showing no signs of awkwardness or estrangement whatsoever from their first meeting.

Song Rui took out his phone, took a group photo, and posted it to his WeChat Moments with the caption ——A family of three.

Song Wennuan shared this group photo.

In no time, their phones started ringing. Almost all their relatives and friends liked their posts, and some even sent a lot of memes of people crying with joy.

Yuan Zhongzhou：【This gentleman looked familiar. When I saw him, a warm feeling inexplicably welled up in my heart. 】

Zhu Xiya：【I feel the same way! 】

He Jinglian：【Nuannuan Jie, could you bring Dr. Song’s boyfriend to the company for a visit? I really want to meet him! 】

Ah Huo：【Me too. The moment I laid eyes on his photo, I actually started crying】

Sisi Jie：【I just burst into tears! 】

The sheer number of likes and comments, and the overwhelming positive sentiment towards the young man, greatly surprised Song Wennuan.

The situation was exactly the same for Song Rui.

Meng Zhong said sourly: 【You’ve already brought him home so quickly? I heard Mr. Fan is applying for a consultant position at our bureau? I’ll handle that for him. Bring him over tomorrow! 】

Zhuang Zhen：【I eagerly hope to work with Mr. Fan in the future. 】

Xiao Li：【Dr. Song, you’re being really unfair. You should at least bring him along so we can all get to know him and have a meal together. 】

In short, everyone was subtly urging Song Rui not to hold back and to quickly share Fan Jialuo, everyone was eager to get to know him. There was no reason needed, they liked him at first sight, as if he were a lifelong friend.

With Fan Jialuo around, who would want to scroll through their WeChat Moments? Song Rui and Song Wennuan both turned off their phones and gathered around him, chatting intently, occasionally letting out cheerful laughter——

At the same time, Ding Haohao was very uneasy.

His family had money, sure, but next to his Jiujiu’s empire, they were lightyears apart. To make matters worse, his Jiujiu was highly competent and stone-cold. He had cut off every single person in the Ding family years ago over some bitter blood feud, building today’s fortune completely from scratch.

Not only did Ding Haohao have zero hope of leeching off his Jiujiu, but the entire Ding family was practically being crushed under his Jiujiu’s boots.

He tugged at his clothes, anxiously peering upstairs.

After a long time, Jiujiu and his partner walked down side by side, both with serious expressions on their faces.

“How did you meet Mr. Fan?” Fan Kaixuan asked first.

Ding Haohao swallowed hard and carefully recounted the whole story.

“Then you are very lucky.” Fan Kaixuan pondered for a long time before saying, “Your Jiujiu and I have discussed it and are preparing to transfer your guardianship to our name.”

“Huh?” Ding Haohao was dumbfounded, “But I still have my dad.”

“Your father is definitely going to jail, so don’t even think about it. Since Mr. Fan asked us to take good care of you, we will do our best, so don’t worry.” Ding Yu solemnly promised.

Ding Haohao was bewildered, “Do you know that Mr. Fan?”

Fan Kaixuan and Ding Yu exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison, “We don’t know him, but he seems to be a very important person to us. It’s hard to explain this feeling. Just think of it as us taking care of you out of kinship.”

Ding Haohao：……

He struggled for a long time before finally saying, “My dad would never harm my mom. Mr. Fan must be mistaken.”

“Mr. Fan has never been wrong.” Fan Kaixuan subconsciously retorted, but couldn’t give a reason, so he could only urge, “Go back to your room and get some sleep. You have to go to the police station to give a statement tomorrow.”

The next day at noon, Ding Haohao received a call from the police station. The DNA comparison results for the body were in, and it was indeed his mother. It was said that the man who eloped with his mother had also been caught. He confessed without hesitation, and two other accomplices were implicated, namely Ding Haohao’s father and stepmother.

Ding Haohao: ……

Fan Kaixuan and Ding Yu were not surprised. While putting on their coats, they urged, “Let’s go to the police station.”

Ding Haohao had no idea how he ended up in the police station. By the time he came to his senses, the whole truth of the case had come to light. It turned out that his mother hadn’t eloped at all, instead, his father had taken her to the old house and imprisoned her, even getting her addicted to drugs.

The drug was called nitrous oxide, which makes people laugh continuously after inhaling it, so all the photos his mother took before she died showed her smiling broadly. His father forced his mother to sign a share transfer agreement, then ordered the man to kill her, and even filmed several obscene videos as so-called evidence of their elopement.

The whole thing started simply because the stepmother got pregnant and didn’t want to be a mistress anymore.

Ding Haohao’s world completely collapsed at that moment. He covered his face and squatted at the entrance of the police station, crying uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a warm hand covered his head, gently patted it, and comforted him, “Don’t cry, your mother is watching you.”

Ding Haohao immediately stopped crying and looked around.

Fan Jialuo bent down and handed over a box emitting cold air, “This is a delicacy I just discovered, called ice cream. Eating it will make you feel happy.”

No, I’ll never be happy again. Ding Haohao shook his head, wanting to refuse, but found that when Mr. Fan’s hand left his head, most of the unvented sadness and pain dissipated.

His mood truly calmed down, as if enveloped by warm spring water, slowly undergoing healing.

Fan Jialuo rubbed his head again and walked into the sunlight, carrying a large bag of ice cream that showed no signs of melting in the sweltering heat.

He handed the ice cream to a handsome man waiting by the car, then ran to the small shop across the street and bought a lot of snacks. It was clear he was a foodie.

The two drove away, and only then did Ding Haohao open the ice cream box, scooping out pieces to eat while crying.

It’s probably a good thing that I wasn’t deceived by my dad and stepmom my whole life, right? Finding my mom and clearing her name is even better, isn’t it? In short, I’m lucky to have met Mr. Fan. Thinking this, Ding Haohao actually felt relieved.

THE END

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TN:- This is the end of the novel ‘Psychic‘. I hope you like my translation. If you like this novel please support the original novel and author. Your comments and like encourage me to go on. Thank you for your patience. On my way to find another good dropped novel.

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Chapter 293. New Beginning

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TN:- 2 chapters!! No sorry, deliberately hang you guys.😜

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After the dragon disappeared, a torrential downpour began to fall from the sky. Everyone sprinted up the mountain against the stinging rain, desperate to see how it would all end.

Between Fan Jialuo and Lin Nianci, who truly emerged victorious, and who met a dramatic end? For whom did this rain fall? And from whom did that suddenly grown dragon draw its power…?

A series of questions weighed heavily on everyone’s minds, causing them great anxiety. Abbot Changjing, however, seemed to sense something amiss, his steps unusually heavy. He knew that just moments ago, a God had visited this world, only to vanish without a trace. He had sacrificed himself to feed the dragon, summoning a rain brimming with spiritual qi and blessings, nourishing this world riddled with wounds.

The person who would do such a thing is definitely not Lin Nianci.

If it wasn’t her, then the answer is self-evident.

Such an obvious fact——if Abbot Changjing could have foreseen it, how could Song Rui not? Entering the blown-out basement, his heart stopped dead. The man he wanted, the gentlest guy he’d ever known, was long gone. All that was left was Lin Nianci’s cooling corpse.

She lay in the raindrops, the bloodstains on her body gradually washed away, revealing a smiling face. She was gone, once and for all. But she died peacefully and happily.

She ultimately gave back everything she had taken from the world.

What about Fan Jialuo?

Song Rui couldn’t help but think of the things he had once said. He said that gods were like scabies; he said that as long as he existed, there would be no gods in this world; he said that the true gods would give back everything they had to all living beings in the world……

He had spoken so many words, yet looking back now, every single sentence that condemned the gods was actually a sentence passed upon himself. To save the world, he had to become a god, yet to save the world, he also had to destroy them.

He killed himself twice, just so that everyone in the world could live.

Song Rui’s mind could no longer recall any details of the past. He searched for a long time but couldn’t find any trace of Fan Jialuo. Finally, he knelt down, his eyes red, and murmured, “Liar, you’ve been lying all along. You knew your fate all along, didn’t you?”

Xu Yiyang stood amidst the rain-soaked ruins, wailing uncontrollably. He vaguely understood that his Gege would never return.

Meng Zhong hired a construction team to clean up the dilapidated old residence and search for Fan Jialuo. Abbot Changjing stood in the rain and prayed to the heavens.

Yet the other cultivators paced around Lin Nianci’s body, searching relentlessly. Their sole purpose was to find the two jade pendants, the keys to ascending to godhood.

“Fool. Benefactor Fan will certainly not leave behind such a scourge to the world.” Abbot Changjing shook his head, a tearful smile of relief on his face.

Only someone like Teacher Fan would think of solving the problem at its source, regardless of the consequences, and be fearless even at the cost of his life. He had promised Xuan Yangzi that he would protect this world, and now he had done so.

The cultivators, who had been frantically tearing through the ruins, suddenly froze with bewildered expressions. One after another, they emerged from the debris, asking in utter confusion, “What am I doing here?”

“A dragon vein has surfaced, and we’re just here to see what’s going on.”

“Oh, right. Well, since the dragon vein is already gone, we might as well head out too. Nothing out of the ordinary here.”

In a mere half hour, they had completely forgotten Fan Jialuo’s existence and found plausible explanations for everything that had happened. This was Fan Jialuo’s divine power cleansing the traces he left in this world.

Not only the cultivators, but even the spiritualists and Abbot Changjing felt the profound sorrow in their hearts gradually subside, giving way to a bewildered stillness

“Let’s go, let’s go. The dragon has already entered the abyss. Let’s hurry back. The rain is so heavy, and it’s so cold outside.” Zhu Xiya said, her voice trembling as she wrapped her wet coat tighter around herself.

Yuan Zhongzhou nodded, then walked away, glancing back every few steps. He felt as if he had forgotten something important.

Meng Zhong’s expression shifted from frantic anxiety to calm composure. He stopped trying to move the rubble and logs in search of Teacher Fan, and instead took out his walkie-talkie to tell the bureau that the Fan family’s old residence had fallen into disrepair, the roof had collapsed, but there was nothing serious.

Fan Jialuo’s passing became like smoke driven by the wind to these people, dissolving so thoroughly that it was as if he had never been.

The only two people who could remember him were Xu Yiyang and Song Rui.

At this moment, Song Rui’s bloodshot eyes were fixed on Xu Yiyang’s figure. He suddenly remembered that whoever possessed the jade pendant would leave a small jade pendant inside the body of each person they saved. Could Xu Yiyang, who had been saved by Fan Jialuo, also possess the same thing?

If I get my hands on it, can I use a wish to drag back someone who’s already completely gone?

This thought lingered in Song Rui’s mind, making his gaze increasingly dangerous.

Xu Yiyang seemed to realize something, but instead of being afraid or running away, he looked up and said urgently, “Song Rui Gege, do you have a way to save Gege? Please save him! Please save him quickly!”

“If you save him, you will die.” Song Rui squatted down and grabbed the child’s thin shoulders tightly.

“I’m already dead.” Xu Yiyang said firmly, “I’m not afraid.”

At that moment, Song Rui truly harbored murderous intent, yet he ultimately released Xu Yiyang, stood up, turned his back, and wept in the rain. He suddenly wondered if Fan Jialuo was watching him from the clouds, and whether such a crime could earn his forgiveness.

He absolutely wouldn’t do it. Once he killed Xu Yiyang, Song Rui would never again be the Dr. Song that Fan Jialuo loved. His own filth would never be worthy of Fan Jialuo’s pure light.

Finally, Song Rui stopped struggling, took out the small bottle that Fan Jialuo had given him from his pocket, and fed the scarlet liquid inside to Xu Yiyang. He could smell that the liquid had a strong fishy smell, it must be Fan Jialuo’s blood.

If Fan Jialuo was truly a God, then this was a drop of divine blood.

Xu Yiyang thought this would save his Gege, so he drank it without hesitation. However, in an instant, the sorrow in his eyes disappeared, replaced by confusion and fear. And his stiff, cold body suddenly had breath, heartbeat, and body temperature.

Fan Jialuo saved his life, but also made him forget himself.

Looking at his bewildered child gazing up at him, Song Rui finally broke down in tears.

He held the little child in his arms and asked with immense sorrow, “If even we forget him, who in the world will remember him?”

He trembled with fear at this thought. Only then did he realize that what was more terrifying than loneliness was forever forgetting the precious existence that made him feel lonely.

“Don’t make me forget you! Fan Jialuo, don’t be so cruel!” He pleaded in the rain, holding the child, but it was no use. Those happy memories, those ordinary yet sweet moments, were fading from his mind at an alarming rate.

The eyes of Lu Qiu and the skull that the police dug out of the ruins dissolved silently in the weeping rain. Slowly, gently, every lingering imprint of Fan Jialuo’s presence on this earth was washing away.

Song Rui racked his brains for a way to fight against all of this, and in a flash he remembered a few words that person had once said——

“This is the seed of that demonic Bodhi tree, keep it safe.”

“……who knows it might just grow another me?”

“……only the most evil or the most good in the world can allow it to take root and sprout.”

Song Rui abruptly released Xu Yiyang and stumbled to the still-uncollapsed second-floor bedroom, where he found an oval-shaped seed in the bedside table.

“Meng Zhong, please take care of Yangyang for me. I’ll be back in a few days.” With those words, he rushed into the torrential rain and drove through the night to Xianghuo Village. He found the black lake and buried the seed in the most contaminated patch of soil by the lake.

He knelt on the ground, waiting with extreme tension and anticipation, and then, a second before all his memories vanished, he shook his head with a bitter smile, “Fan Jialuo, you master of deception. It seems you were the greatest liar of us all.”

A promise was made that he would surely return safe and sound, yet in the end, it became an eternal parting, never to meet again, in heaven or on earth.

In the end, even Song Rui forgot everything that had ever been.

He stood up and walked step by step out of the village. When he reached the roadside and got into his car, he looked back one last time, only to find that the dilapidated little mountain village had disappeared into a mysteriously rising black mist.

“What happened?” He murmured in confusion. Then, with a self-mocking smile, he dismissed the thought and drove away.

The heavy rain lasted for seven days and seven nights. After the rain stopped, a magnificent rainbow stretched across the entire city, eliciting surprised and admiring glances.

So beautiful! This was the shared feeling of everyone, yet no one remembers the price paid for this beauty——

Three years later, several teenagers carrying backpacks walked on a bumpy, deserted national highway.

One of them complained, “Ding Haohao, didn’t you say that Xianghuo Village is in this area? How come we haven’t seen it after walking for several hours?”

“Legend has it that it’s in this area, but I don’t know exactly where.” A good looking lad said breathlessly.

“Why did you even drag us out here then? The live stream is completely ruined now.” The second person chimed in, grumbling.

Ding Haohao wiped the sweat from his brow and encouraged them, “Let’s walk a little further, maybe it’s just ahead.”

“Damn it, LaoZi’s shoes are almost worn out, LaoZi’s not walking anymore!” His two companions threw down their backpacks, slumped down on the roadside, and refused to move again.

Ding Haohao wanted to persuade them again, but then he saw a thick fog rolling in from ahead, and a tall, slender figure emerged from it, slowly approaching. It was nearly dusk, and the person’s face, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, revealed a breathtaking beauty, like the colorful clouds on the horizon, magnificent and fantastical.

His skin was very fair, but his eyes were darker and deeper than the endless universe. Through his pupils, Ding Haohao could even see a dazzling galaxy.

His outfit was completely covered in dust and grime, yet he still exuded elegance and nobility. With a slight bend at the waist and a smile playing on his lips, his voice was as clear and melodious as a mountain spring, “Hello there, excuse me, is there any chance I could hitch a ride with you?”

Originally intending to continue searching for the Xianghuo Village and complete this horror live stream, Ding Haohao impulsively replied, “Our car is parked at the foot of the mountain. I’ll call my driver and have him come up to pick us up.”

Half an hour later, the three teenagers and the young man who had appeared out of nowhere were sitting in a luxury car, driving back to Beijing.

“My name is Ding Haohao, I’m sixteen years old. What’s your name?” The handsome teenager tried to strike up a conversation with the young man, his eyes glancing at him every now and then, but he didn’t dare to look at him openly. It was simply because the other person was so beautiful, like a spirit that had run out of the mountains.

“My name is Fan Jialuo.”

“You’re absolutely filthy, You’re gonna get Young Master Ding’s car dirty.” One of the teenagers said with disgust.

Another teenager pressed, “What’s your deal? Why the hell are you wandering around a place like this by yourself?”

“The car can be washed if it’s dirty, it’s fine.” Ding Haohao quickly came to the young man’s rescue, but the other party chuckled and said, “I’m a Psychic, ever heard of it?”

“Holy crap, is this true?” The group consisted of people who did horror live streams and were familiar with the term psychics, but they had never seen one in real life.

“I never lie.” Fan Jialuo remained gentle and polite throughout.

“Oh, so can you do reading for us? Come on, let’s give it a shot.”

“Okay, imagine something in your mind and I will read it.”

“Alright, alright, let’s get started!”

The three teenagers stared intently at Fan Jialuo, trying to conjure up some idea.

Fan Jialuo held his hand in front of their faces, sensing their thoughts as he spoke, “Are you thinking about whether you’ll be at the bottom of the class in this exam?”

“Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! You really do know!” The teenager, whose secret had been exposed, clutched his wildly beating heart.

“A face surfaced in your mind, a young girl with long, jet-black hair and big round eyes……”

“Wait, wait! Stop talking!” Another teenager, whose secret had also been exposed, wanted nothing more than to cover Fan Jialuo’s mouth.

They simply couldn’t believe that psychics actually existed in the world!

“You….…” Fan Jialuo’s palm lingered in front of Ding Haohao’s face for a long time, his brows furrowing deeply, “Your heart is consumed by resentment, yet bursting with longing. May I see that photograph? Perhaps I can help you fulfill this wish.”

Ding Haohao instinctively pressed his hand to his shirt pocket, his face full of resistance.

“I might be able to see where she is, but I need a stronger medium, something directly connected to her. You don’t have to show me the picture. Just letting me touch the wallet is enough.” Fan Jialuo said sincerely.

Ding Haohao ultimately couldn’t resist his inner longing. He took his wallet out of his pocket and handed it over, but his eyes were fixed on Fan Jialuo’s hands, as if afraid that he would open it.

Fan Jialuo did not rummage through the wallet, he simply enclosed it between his hands, closing his eyes to channel his senses.

After about two or three minutes, he returned the wallet to Ding Haohao and sighed, “Let’s talk about it when we get back to Beijing.”

He didn’t convey a single useful message. Ding Haohao was disappointed but secretly relieved. After taking back his wallet, he kept a cold face and didn’t say a word.

The other two teenagers kept asking them what kind of riddle they were playing, but they couldn’t get an answer.

The rest of the journey was incredibly boring. No matter how much the two teenagers pleaded and enticed, Fan Jialuo didn’t demonstrate his psychic abilities again. Upon arriving in Beijing, he had the driver stop at a busy intersection and, with a gentle yet firm tone, made his request, “Ding Haohao and I have things to do. You two go back first.”

“What business do you guys have out here? You didn’t say a word about it during the whole drive!” The two teenagers got out of the car, completely bewildered.

Fan Jialuo slammed the car door shut and ordered, “Take us to the South City District Branch Police Station.”

“What?” Ding Haohao was stunned.

“To the South City District Branch Police Station.” Fan Jialuo’s voice carried an inexplicable power, so the driver drove to the South City District Branch Police Station without even asking any questions.

Fan Jialuo pulled Ding Haohao out of the car and took him to the Criminal Investigation Team. He said to a police officer who came up to them, “We’re here to report a case. His mother has been murdered.”

Ding Haohao, who had originally wanted to come along to see what he was up to, was suddenly struck dumb. He angrily shouted, “What nonsense are you talking about! Your mother is the one who got murdered!”

Fan Jialuo took out his wallet from his pocket, opened it, and took out a photograph from a hidden compartment. He pointed out, “Take a close look at where this photograph was taken. Your subconscious tells me that you are not unfamiliar with this place.”

The photo shows a middle-aged man and woman. The woman is sitting on the man’s lap, while the man has his arm tightly around her waist. They are both looking at the camera with bright smiles. Behind them is a white wall, and there are no other objects to indicate where the photo was taken.

Although Ding Haohao always carried the photo with him, he hated seeing it. At this moment, his eyes were red, and he was glaring at Fan Jialuo with hatred.

Fan Jialuo handed the photo to the responding police officer, saying, “The woman in the photograph was murdered by the man beside her. I saw her corpse, buried in the dirt.”

“Come with me to give your statements!” Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the young police officer quickly led the two people to the meeting room.

However, ten minutes later, he broke down, grabbed his notebook, and ran to the captain’s office, complaining, “I’ve officially run into a lunatic! Some good-looking young guy just came in to report a crime, claiming a woman was murdered by a man and that he saw the man bury the body in the dirt with his own eyes. Took me half an hour of digging to realize his ‘eyewitness testimony’ was just a vision from a channeling! The guy claims he’s a Psychic!”

“Captain Zhuang, can you believe something this bizarre?”

“I’ll go take a look.” Zhuang Zhen stood up with a frown.

They met Meng Zhong on the way, explained the situation, and then the three of them walked together toward the meeting room.

Before they even entered the door, an angry roar came from inside, “How dare you say my mom was murdered! You’re insane! Fine, I’ll tell you the truth, my mom abandoned my dad and me and ran off with this man in the photo. She sent the photo back to my dad, she was trying to show him that she’s a terrible person.”

“Have you caused enough trouble? Can I leave now? I must have lost my mind to actually bring you to the police station!”

“You are completely insane! I should have just driven you straight to the psychiatric ward!”

The door was opened by the teenager, but the exceptionally handsome young man remained calmly seated in his chair, saying in a composed tone, “Bring your technician, Xiao Li, over here. Enlarge the white wall behind the photo. Take a good look. Where was your mother, whom you thought had run away with someone else?”

“Cut it out already! Officer, look, this is just a misunderstanding, my mom’s fine. I’m not reporting anything. Can I walk out of here now?” Ding Haohao said angrily.

Zhuang Zhen had originally come down here to kick the guy out, but for some unknown reason, the exact moment he laid eyes on the handsome young man, he suddenly changed his mind.

“Where is the photo?” He reached out to the teenager.

Meng Zhong, as if possessed, turned around and shouted, “Xiao Li, Xiao Li, come here and scan a photo!”

The young police officer who had taken the statement was bewildered, not understanding why the two big shots would take a fake case so seriously.

Xiao Li rushed over with his laptop and scanner, and when he saw Fan Jialuo, he was stunned for a moment and muttered, “This person looks so familiar!”

“Cut the crap and scan this photo first.” Zhuang Zhen ordered. Ignoring Ding Haohao’s protests, he yanked the picture out of the wallet and shoved it forward.

“Why are you snatching my things? Are you all fucking crazy? My mom is still alive! She’s a slut, she ran off with someone else, do you understand now?” Ding Haohao roared, crying. The wounds in his heart were being dug out and exposed to the public by these people, driving him almost insane.

“Don’t cry, let’s look at the photo first.” Meng Zhong forcefully pushed him back into the meeting room and pressed him into a chair.

It was truly strange. Although it was their first meeting, Meng Zhong felt an inexplicable surge of trust, as if every word the handsome young man spoke was the truth to him. He simply couldn’t harbor even the slightest doubt towards him and only wanted to follow his instructions.

Zhuang Zhen must have felt the same. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given these stories of the paranormal a single second of his time.

While secretly observing the young man, Xiao Li scanned the photo and then zoomed in on the white wall in the background, displaying it inch by inch on the computer screen.

Fan Jialuo ordered, “Look carefully.”

Ding Haohao turned his head away, opposing him.

Without a second thought, Meng Zhong turned the teenager’s head around and pressed it onto the screen. At that moment, the teenager froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at a spot on the white wall.

Xiao Li quickly zoomed in on the area and discovered a crookedly drawn kitten on the white wall, with the words ‘haohao’ written next to it.

Because the kitten was positioned right next to the woman’s head, close to her fluffy black hair, it was difficult to spot. Unless someone zoom in on the photo and look at it frame by frame, no one would notice this detail.

Ding Haohao was stunned.

Fan Jialuo then slowly said, “You should know where this is.”

“This is, this is my old house, the kitten on the wall is one I drew.” All of Ding Haohao’s fury evaporated into a creeping dread, “But when my mom sent that photo over, she said she’d already left for port city with Fang Shushu, and told us not to look for her. Sent along with it were also…… also……”

Ding Haohao’s voice choked up, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t continue speaking.

Fan Jialuo closed the photo and spoke for him, “Sent along with it were also several disturbing, explicit videos, all featuring your mother and this man in the photo, correct? I can see her laughing, looking like she’s completely happy, but her heart is weeping inside. She was calling out your name over and over again. I can tell you for sure that she did not do it willingly.”

“Go look for her in this old house, she’s there.” Fan Jialuo said, putting down the photograph and sighing.

“Without concrete evidence, we cannot obtain a search warrant.” The young police officer immediately refused.

“I’ll go get the search warrant from Chief Chen.” Meng Zhong prepared to go personally.

“I’m going to gather the team members.” Zhuang Zhen also left in a hurry.

Young police officer：……

Are you two big shots completely out of your minds?!

After the two left, a loud, boisterous voice came from outside the meeting room, “Xiao Tan, I heard a charlatan has come to the bureau? Let me see——”

Sun Zhengqi peeked through the crack in the door and saw Fan Jialuo’s extremely handsome face. All his mockery stopped abruptly, replaced by a flushed face and a surge of excitement. He didn’t know what he was excited about, but he just felt very happy. Seeing this person made his eyes red and his heart warm. All his doubts turned into firm belief.

“We’ll dispatch the police immediately!” He quickly pulled his head back and ran off. After a while, he ran back, his face flushed, and said, “Hello sir, don’t worry, we will do our best to investigate this case.”

Young police officer ：……

Today is truly bizarre!

Outside the door, chaos reigned, but inside, only Ding Haohao’s sobs could be heard.

Fan Jialuo said gently, “Call your family and ask them to come and keep you company.”

“I’ll call my dad.” Ding Haohao said without hesitation.

“Your father and your stepmother both know about this.” Fan Jialuo dropped a bombshell.

Ding Haohao’s breathing stopped.

The young police officer was speechless. He had never seen anyone more insane than Fan Jialuo.

“Impossible……” Ding Haohao hurriedly denied.

Fan Jialuo interrupted him, “Call your Jiujiu.”

The mention of his Jiujiu drove the fear right out of Ding Haohao’s mind. Waving his hands dismissively, he choked out, “No, no, no, he won’t help me. He’s the kind of guy who disowns his own family on a whim.”

“You have the surname Ding, just like your mother, so you are a member of the Ding family. He won’t abandon you.”

“But back then, when my dad sent those videos, he flat out said he didn’t have a Jiejie anymore. He’s never publicly accepted me. Going to him is just humiliating myself.” Ding Haohao choked on his words, crying bitterly once more.

Everyone thought she was a terrible person, including her closest relatives. Nobody wanted to admit she even existed. Consequently, they took their anger out on her son too, choosing to cast him aside and forget he was ever there.

Ding Haohao desperately wanted to find his mom and ask her why she had done such a thing. But if none of that was true, who could he turn to for all the anger, hatred, and resentment he had accumulated over the years?

If dad knew the truth……

Ding Haohao dared not think any further, and cried even more uncontrollably.

Fan Jialuo took his phone, found the word ‘Jiujiu’ in the contacts, and dialed the number.

“I thought I told you not to bother me unless something is actually wrong.” A cold voice came from the speakerphone, making Ding Haohao not even dare to cry out loud, and could only bite his lip and endure it.

The young police officer handed him a pack of tissues, his eyes full of sympathy.

Fan Jialuo asked gently, “Ding Yu?”

“Who?” The cold voice trembled slightly.

“I am Fan Jialuo. Ding Haohao is currently at the South City District Branch Police Station and needs to be taken care of. Get over here right away.”

“Fan Jialuo? Doesn’t ring a bell.” Ding Yu’s words sounded impolite, but his tone was clearly urgent and respectful, “I’ll be right there, please wait a moment. Fan Kaixuan, do you know Fan Jialuo? He said he’s at the South City District Branch Police Station, with Ding Haohao.”

“I don’t know him, but the name feels incredibly familiar. We’re heading over right now.”

Fan Jialuo interrupted their conversation. He returned the phone to the teenager and comforted him, “Don’t worry, your Jiujiu will take good care of you from now on.”

“He won’t, he doesn’t want to acknowledge me.”

Rather than being proven right, Ding Haohao was utterly humiliated by the turnaround. Ding Yu arrived at lightning speed, bowing low to Fan Jialuo multiple times as he declared with profound respect, “Rest assured, I will take care of this child from now on. I will definitely investigate the matter that happened in his family thoroughly.”

“Mr. Fan, do we know each other?” Fan Kaixuan, standing to the side, was full of doubt, but also with barely suppressed joy.

“We probably knew each other in a past life.” Fan Jialuo chuckled, which brought tears to the eyes of both Ding Yu and Fan Kaixuan.

“I bet we were really good friends in our past lives, because seeing you makes us feel so close to you. Thank you for helping Haohao. We’ll take good care of him, don’t worry.” Ding Yu pressed down on his nephew’s head and ordered, “Hurry up and thank Mr. Fan.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fan.” Ding Haohao stood there completely shell-shocked, watching his Jiujiu turn into a total brown-noser in the blink of an eye.

The young police officer, looking exasperated, said, “Hey, aren’t you guys getting a little too into it? The truth of the case hasn’t even been determined yet!”

He had barely finished speaking when Zhen called, “Body is located. It was buried in the yard. Patch through to Forensic Doctor Zhou and get him here immediately.”

The young police officer looked at Fan Jialuo in disbelief before saying to Ding Haohao, “Your mother’s body has been found.”

Ding Haohao fainted on the spot, but Ding Yu and Fan Kaixuan never doubted the outcome. ——

At the same time, Song Rui was standing in the entryway carrying a briefcase.

Song DaBo said with dissatisfaction, “Why didn’t you bring Yangyang back?”

“He wants to go to summer camp.” Song Rui changed into slippers and walked into the hall expressionlessly.

He didn’t know why he had adopted an orphan, nor why his relationship with his uncle had suddenly improved, nor what the dark room in the house was for. He would spend some time in the dark room every day, looking at the empty walls, always feeling that it would look nicer if some photos were hung on them.

But whose photo should be displayed?

Song Rui tried hanging up Xu Yiyang’s, his family’s, and his own things, but in the end, he took them all down and smashed them on the ground. A surge of anger would inexplicably rise in his heart, and the word would repeatedly pop into his head——liar.

But who was he angry at? Who was he yelling at?

He couldn’t understand it, and gradually felt that his life was becoming barren, pale, and lifeless.

He slumped onto the sofa, his face etched with exhaustion and an indescribable loneliness.

Song DaBo glanced at him and said earnestly, “You’re getting old, it’s time to find a partner. Even if you like men, I won’t object, as long as you’re happy.”

“Who said I like men?” Song Rui was stunned.

Song DaBo was also stunned, “Nobody, I just suddenly felt that way.”

“I don’t like men, and of course, I don’t like women either.” Song Rui had barely finished speaking when he received a call from Meng Zhong, who asked abruptly, “Does the name Fan Jialuo sound familiar? We’ve received a very strange case today, would you like to come and take a look?”

The name Fan Jialuo struck Song Rui’s ears like a sudden thunderclap, leaving his mind reeling.

Slipping into his shoes in a rush, he raced out toward the parking lot, completely deaf to Song DaBo’s frantic shouts behind him.

Half an hour later, he pushed open the door to the meeting room and saw the young man surrounded by Ding Yu, Fan Kaixuan, Liao Fang, and Hu Wenwen. He was really handsome, his dark eyes were as captivating as the endless night sky.

He turned his head and looked over, a slight smile playing on his crimson lips, which captivated Song Rui, stealing his breath, his heartbeat, and even his very soul.

Song Rui stood at the door, not daring to move, as if afraid of startling him away.

But the man simply stood up and said with a smile, “Dr. Song, long time no see.”

“We’ve never even met. What do you mean, ‘long time no see’?” Song Rui questioned, dissecting his exact words.

“We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. I’m actually hoping to apply as a consultant for the South City District Branch. I wonder if that would be possible?” Fan Jialuo replied with a smile.

“Possible, possible, absolutely possible!” Before Song Rui could even speak, Liao Fang and Hu Wenwen eagerly agreed.

“I am currently homeless. I wonder if Dr. Song could take me in temporarily?” Fan Jialuo asked again.

This time, even more people rushed to answer.

Liao Fang raised her hand, “Teacher Fan, come stay at my house!”

Hu Wenwen, “Stay at my house, my house is spacious!”

Ding Yu and Fan Kaixuan, “Our home is in Fanghua Garden, a villa area.”

Song Rui couldn’t listen anymore. He pushed past these people, grabbed Fan Jialuo’s slender wrist, and pulled him out.

Fan Jialuo followed him obediently, a smile always playing on his lips.

“Don’t you really remember me?” He asked in a low voice after getting into the car.

Song Rui handed over the bottled water in his hand and ordered, “Drink it.”

Fan Jialuo opened the bottle and took a sip, nearly spitting it out at the end. His features twisted into a tight knot as he let out a long sigh and gasped, “So bitter!”

“This is what waiting without hope tastes like.” Song Rui stared straight ahead, his tone icy.

Fan Jialuo smiled with delight, “Dr. Song, I knew it. Even if the whole world forgets me, you will remember me. I did not break my promise. I have crawled back from hell as we agreed.”

Song Rui’s eyes slowly reddened, and his voice was extremely hoarse, “It wasn’t until the moment I laid eyes on you that I finally remembered. I genuinely believed you lied to me.”

“I never lie.” Fan Jialuo leaned over and hugged his slightly trembling body.

“Are you leaving again this time?” Song Rui asked anxiously.

“I’m never leaving again. Feel it, I’m a normal person now.” Fan Jialuo handed him his hand.

And so, their two warm hands clasped tightly together, never to let go. As long as they had each other, every day to come would be a new beginning for them……

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Chapter 292. The Final Judgement (II)

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High in the sky, unseen by anyone, a person flew past on the wind. Her long black hair floated behind her head, revealing a face of unparalleled beauty. Her bare feet trod on the clouds, and she sped towards a certain place in the capital.

Brilliant specks of light chased after her, vying to merge into her body, causing her pitch-black eyes to radiate a terrifying, divine glow. Her face was beautiful, but her expression twisted with a hideous, venomous hatred.

Ordinary people couldn’t see her at all, but Abbot Changjing, top cultivators, and highly skilled spiritualists who paid close attention to celestial phenomena all saw this strange phenomenon and then chased after the figure walking in the sky.

“Is that a human or a god?” Yuan Zhongzhou asked, his voice filled with doubt and surprise.

“God.” Zhu Xiya said with certainty. Besides a god, she couldn’t think of anyone else in the world who could casually scatter starlight, ride the wind, travel a thousand miles a day, and trigger cataclysmic shifts.

Abbot Changjing’s perception was more acute than theirs. He shook his head and said, “The momentum is mounting, but it’s still not enough. When a god manifests in this world, the commotion is never this insignificant. Have you ever witnessed a Heavenly Tribulation? If anyone were to achieve godhood in this world, the sheer magnitude of that tribulation would be enough to annihilate this entire city. Therefore, she is not yet a god.”

“Almost there.” Taoist Zhi Fei, who had somehow caught up with the figure, said in a deep voice, “That’s Lin Nianci! Look at the thunderclouds in the sky, the heavenly tribulation is coming soon!”

The crowd looked up into the higher sky and finally realized that tonight’s darkness was deeper than any other day. The starlight filling the sky was entirely covered by thick clouds, and purple lightning darted through the cloud layer, as if it would crash down at any moment

If Lin Nianci truly crosses the threshold to godhood, the heavenly tribulation she summons will raze this city of tens of millions of people to the ground.

“Go and notify the government to evacuate the citizens!” Someone shouted.

“It’s too late. Tens of millions of people, how can we evacuate them? It’s too late!” Taoist Zhi Fei said, choking with emotion.

Everyone fell into a silence as still as death. It was only at this moment that they suddenly realized that the supreme realm of ‘becoming a god‘ which they had longed for, was actually to be traded for the lives of thousands upon thousands of ordinary people.

“Why did she come to the Capital? There are tens of millions of people here! Why didn’t she go to the deep mountains and forests? Doesn’t she know the consequences?” Zhu Xiya roared angrily.

Taoist Zhi Fei said with deep shame, “She has always been this way since she was a child. It seems that she has no concept of equality for all living beings.”

“I think she not only lacks any sense of equality for all living beings, but she also treats everyone in the world like ants. Who does she think she is?” Zhu Xiya was furious.

Taoist Zhi Fei wiped his face, feeling even more acutely the immense sin of the Tianshui Sect in raising such a monster. They had not only failed their ancestors and their countrymen, but also the entire world. Who could have imagined that the innocent and lovely girl from back then would grow up to be like this?

At first, there were countless orbs of light following Lin Nianci, but later only a few remained, and then none at all. The world became deathly quiet, but the lightning in the sky flashed more and more frequently.

Everyone was on edge, knowing that when the calamity struck, no one could escape it. This city, and even several surrounding cities, would be reduced to ruins.

“Strange, she’s heading in the direction of the Fan family’s old residence!” A cultivator exclaimed.

“I understand, she’s going to seek revenge on Fan Jialuo!”

“Can Fan Jialuo deal with her?”

“It’s impossible. No matter how powerful Fan Jialuo is, he’s just a spiritual entity right now. He is absolutely no match for the current Lin Nianci.”

These people’s predictions soon came true. When they reached the foot of the mountain, a powerful magnetic field had already enveloped the mountain range, which stretched for dozens of kilometers. Song Rui, holding Xu Yiyang’s hand, stood outside the wall of air formed by the magnetic field, staring blankly in the direction of the mountaintop.

Everyone was repelled by this terrifyingly powerful magnetic field, and they realized even more deeply that Lin Nianci was truly different. Now she could come and go freely in this world, commanding the wind and rain. Destroying a place or killing someone was merely a matter of a thought for her.

This world has become her playground, and the people living in this world are her playthings.

“Teacher Fan is in danger!” Yuan Zhongzhou murmured worriedly.

Just as he expected, Lin Nianci descended from the sky and walked into the basement step by step. Merely raising her hand, she opened her fingers slightly, completely vacuuming Fan Jialuo into her grasp and seizing him savagely by the throat.

“Why did you come back to this world? Why did you expose me in front of Shifu? Wouldn’t it be better if you just behaved and stayed dead?” Lin Nianci’s eyes were terrifyingly black, and her voice was filled with a mad hatred.

Fan Jialuo grasped her wrist and pried it outwards, trying to prevent his fragile neck from breaking too quickly. He still had some things he wanted to say to Lin Nianci.

“Of course I will come back, because everything that happened to you was arranged in advance by me.”

“What did you say?” A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Nianci’s dark eyes.

“I said, everything you’ve experienced was arranged by me. Including your jealousy, your hatred, your killing of me, your path to godhood, the countless falls and countless attempts. Your turbulent life over the past two hundred years, your several ups and downs, were all arranged by me. Don’t you understand? You are my caged bird.” Fan Jialuo spat out blood, but his eyes were full of laughter.

Lin Nianci was stunned and unconsciously loosened her grip.

Fan Jialuo took a breath and continued, “Where should I begin? Let me think about it.”

“It all started the day Shifu forced me to save Shishu. On that day, I used the power of the jade pendant to foresee the future. Would you like to see what that scene was like?”

Before Lin Nianci could react, a somber memory had already unfolded in her mind.

That day, when Fan Jialuo rescued his Shishu, not only were the people from the Tianshui Sect present, but also the other Taoist sects leader who had gone on the mission. Seeing that the jade pendant possessed the heaven-defying power to bring the dead back to life, two flames of greed blazed in everyone’s eyes. It’s just that some people knew how to hide it, while others showed it more openly.

But regardless of how they hid it, the overpowering desire emanating from their minds could not deceive Fan Jialuo’s perception. He heard these people clamoring like fierce ghosts——Steal it, steal it, take this jade pendant and make it ours! Divine ascension, with it, we will surely become a god!

Amidst the rising and falling roars, Fan Jialuo foresaw three future scenarios——First, the dragon vein would be slaughtered. Second, the nine sect leaders would each snatch a piece of the Yang Jade, using the people of the world as a sacrificial offering to embark on a path to godhood, one paved with rivers of blood and utter devastation. And third, Xuan Chengzi hovering over a vast sea of blood, using a Heaven Sacrifice ritual to summon countless torrents of devastating lightning.

These three memories were all more tragic and horrifying than the last, but they can all be summed up in just two words——Godhood

Everyone went mad in their quest to become gods, including Xuan Chengzi.

Lin Nianci was stunned, then realized what was happening and sneered, “These futures are all fake!”

“If Shishu and I did nothing, then they would have all become reality.” Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, “Don’t you think those nine people who stole the Yang Jade in the second memory look familiar?”

Lin Nianci’s pupils dilated for a moment.

Fan Jialuo continued, “You remember now? That’s right, they are the nine sect leaders you killed to sacrifice to the formation. Ever since I foresaw these three futures, I have thought about them day and night, yet I couldn’t find any way to change what is to come. My body is frail, I simply possess no formidable power. Because I was not valued by Shifu and have never learned Taoist arts. Even though I am the strongest Holy Child in the history of the Tianshui Sect, I couldn’t do anything.”

“I couldn’t defeat a single one of those nine sect leaders, let alone Shifu. Besides, I could never bring myself to harm Shifu anyway, that would be an unforgivable crime against the very laws of human ethics.”

“I wanted to change the future, but at the same time I found that I am so powerless.”

“Then, I saw you, an innocent, easily swayed, unrestrained yet cowardly you.”

Fan Jialuo laughed lightly, his eyes gleaming with interest.

Lin Nianci opened her eyes wide in astonishment, as if she had heard a tale of a celestial book.

Fan Jialuo coughed up a mouthful of blood and said with difficulty, “That’s right, I’ve been using you all along. I deliberately took you down the mountain to gain experience and stayed at Young Master Zhang’s house. I deliberately demonstrated the magic of that jade pendant in front of you and Young Master Zhang. Because I knew that Young Master Zhang wouldn’t live much longer, and seeing that scene would drive him mad. And you were born to love beautiful things, so you would definitely be attracted to and bewitched by it.”

“You were the two most perfect pieces I had chosen.”

“Young Master Zhang bit the hook perfectly, suggesting you come implore me to save you. I ruthlessly shut you down and choked that bird to death, forcing you to see that I would never bend. If you want to obtain a chance at life from me, it is impossible unless you kill me to seize the treasure.”

“And the specific method of murder wasn’t Young Master Zhang’s idea. I gave him a hint. Otherwise, how would a scholar who’s been bedridden for years know that killing someone would involve imprisoning their soul?”

“It was because of this Soul Devouring Formation that my soul was preserved, otherwise, I would have been devoured by that Yin Jade long ago. Lin Nianci, do you understand now? You are merely a tool for me to change the future. I knew from the beginning that I could come back alive, find you, and end everything.”

Fan Jialuo coughed up blood while chuckling softly, his eyes filled with pure pleasure.

Lin Nianci was stunned and utterly bewildered. She murmured in disbelief, “So you led me to kill you, led me to kill the nine sect leaders, led me to betray my sect, and made me stumble and fall time and time again on the path to godhood. Then you crawled out of hell, found me, exposed everything I had done, made Shifu completely disappointed in me, and then made me suffer torture that was worse than death time and time again, is that right?”

“How could you be so mean?”

Lin Nianci cried, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was filled with intense hatred, yet also with joy, “Shifu, did you hear that? Fan Jialuo is the true mastermind behind all of this! Those sins and bad karmas shouldn’t be counted against me, he is the one who is truly unpardonable!”

“I will bring this piece of memory back so Shifu can see the absolute truth! You are the one who sinned, not me!” Lin Nianci reached out her other hand and entered Fan Jialuo’s chest cavity, digging out the black Yin Jade hidden in his heart.

Fan Jialuo coughed up a mouthful of blood, finally closed his eyes, and stopped breathing.

The world became extremely quiet in an instant.

Lin Nianci held the blood-stained black jade, her face beaming with ecstatic joy. With all the memories hidden within this jade pendant, she could gain Shifu’s forgiveness. She would also give the pendant to Shifu, allowing him to refine it and ascend to godhood with her. They would be together forever.

“Together? That’s impossible now.” A long sigh echoed in the silent basement.

Lin Nianci was startled and looked up abruptly, only to see a pair of fair, jade-like hands suddenly emerge from the center of the circular formation, followed by a face that was all too familiar, and then half a body.

Fan Jialuo has returned to life! Or more accurately, his original body has at last clawed its way out from the depths of the nether pit.

The instant he appeared, the purple lightning surging through the clouds suddenly roared across the sky, causing the entire earth to tremble. A vast pressure radiated outwards from the old residence like a raging tide, stilling the wind and clouds, dimming the sun and moon, and making the trees tremble.

Abbot Changjing looked up at the sky and exclaimed in astonishment, “She has become a god!” Yet, the god he had envisioned was not a ‘she‘ at all, but a ‘he‘——or perhaps, using the genderless pronoun ‘K‘ was far more accurate.

(*K=That person/that entity)

As Lin Nianci watched the person walking towards her step by step, and then looked at the corpse of Fan Jialuo lying prostrate to the side, gradually turning into specks of light and disappearing, her knees buckled and she knelt on the ground.

“You, you’ve already become a God!?” She wanted to scream hysterically, but when she opened her mouth, she could only utter a hoarse sentence.

“Yes, I became a God during the two hundred years I was trapped in the formation.” Fan Jialuo knelt down and looked deeply into Lin Nianci’s eyes, “Actually, in the beginning, I also put up a fight. You didn’t misspeak. I orchestrated the whole thing, and I bear the sin as well.”

“But I could have easily chosen not to carry any of these sins. I could have just acted as though I had never foreseen a thing, played the part of a useless psychic, and quietly waited for those three preordained futures to become a reality at some point.”

“Before me were two roads. One was completely clean and without waves or turbulence, where I merely had to wait for the coming of death. After all, death to me meant the end of an icy and fiery hell, meaning the conclusion of endless pain, which was a matter that could not be any better.”

Fan Jialuo closed his eyes, as if he were once again caught up in the painful struggle of that time, “There was also another road, which was covered in thorns, sharp knives, traps, hardships, hatred, and even sins. It was something the me of that time had completely no way to bear. You know it too, back then I was only a child.”

Fan Jialuo raised his hand and gestured to indicate his short stature.

Lin Nianci was frozen in place by his oppressive aura, unable to even move her eyes, let alone resist. It turned out that her revenge was a joke from the very beginning.

Opening his eyes, Fan Jialuo’s gaze brimmed with unshed tears, “At first, I chose the easier road. If the world burned, why should I care? I was only a child, utterly powerless. Yet, Shishu’s death forced me to see a brutal truth. There are burdens in this life that must be carried. If you run from them, and I run from them, we leave this world completely devoid of hope.”

“If Shishu is willing to risk his life to conceal the existence of that dragon vein, then what’s wrong with me risking my life to secure a future for the people living on this land?”

Fan Jialuo looked up at the sky where thunder rumbled, accelerating his speech, “Trapped in the Soul Devouring Formation, I cross-examined my heart every moment——Fan Jialuo, is this right or wrong? Sometimes I knew I was right, sometimes I sank into painful self-blame. Until one day, I understood. What I did was to keep everyone alive, for all sentient beings, and for myself. I am the sentient being, and they are me. I will save them just as I save myself.”

“And so I attained enlightenment. My path is neither the path of gods nor the path of Buddhas, but the path of all sentient beings. Heaven heard my plea and helped me from above. In the darkness, Heaven told me that this world belongs to everyone, not to ambitious people like you who aspire to become gods.”

“But you’ve also become a God! What right do you have to demean us?” Lin Nianci struggled to speak under the immense pressure.

“I will, naturally, return this world to its people. There is no need for you to fret over that.” Fan Jialuo gently placed his hand on Lin Nianci’s shoulder, his tone full of compassion, “What was your purpose in becoming a god?”

Lin Nianci gritted her teeth and refused to answer.

“I am well aware. You sought this power to destroy me, and to secure a place by Shifu’s side for eternity, correct? My appearance has made you no longer the best one in Shifu’s eyes. Haunted by the fear of his disappointment, you chased after me with everything you had, yet you were always a step behind. That obsession is your heart’s demon.”

Lin Nianci, whose secret had been exposed, revealed an expression of hatred mixed with despair.

Fan Jialuo shook his head and sighed, “In that case, you ought to take a very close look inside the jade pendant within your body, and examine the memories hidden inside them. The person for whom you abandoned the entire world…… has actually been gone for a very long time.”

“What nonsense are you spewing?!” Lin Nianci let out a shaky, bitter laugh, but her mind completely overrode her will, plunging deep into the jade pendant to scan the memories hidden within those luminous orbs.

Then, in those countless memories, she saw her master shatter his skull with a single palm strike, and fall into eternal silence in the Hall of Heroes.

His last words before his death were, “I am guilty for raising a monster like Song Enci.”

“Shifu!”

In that exact instant, Lin Nianci unexpectedly ruptured through divine pressure. Screaming toward the heavens, a torrent of bloody tears gushed from her wide, cracked eyes.

Her only reason for becoming a god was to secure an eternity by Shifu’s side, to be his favorite above all others. If he was already dead and gone, what meaning did her existence hold? She had struggled to reach the apex, but what did she actually win? A total illusion! A hollow, mocking void!

At this moment, Lin Nianci completely broke down, clutching her head and wailing, then slamming her fist against the hard ground, wishing she could kill herself. She was the one who killed Shifu, she was guilty!

Fan Jialuo pressed down on Lin Nianci’s shoulders, rendering her immobile. He reached into her chest cavity and dug out a dark gray jade pendant from her heart. He sighed, “My purpose from the beginning was not merely to change the future, but to completely destroy this jade pendant. Because even if I kill all those who aspire to become gods, as long as the two jade pendants remain, sooner or later ambitious individuals will be swayed by their allure and follow the exact same path.”

“When it happens, history will simply repeat its catastrophes. Look at Loulan, Ancient Shu, and the Ba-Wu Kingdom, civilizations wiped from the face of the earth without a trace. They serve as a grim warning.”

“But I don’t even have the power to kill the nine sect leaders, so how can I destroy this jade pendant?”

Lin Nianci gradually regained her senses and murmured, “So you wanted me to refine this jade pendant and merge with it, right? Because destroying it is impossible, but destroying me is easy. You only need to force Shifu to his death, and you can force me to my death too. This plan was something you had in mind all along, wasn’t it? Fan Jialuo, you are truly terrifying!”

“That’s right. The stones of other hills may serve to polish one’s own jade——that is precisely my plan. But the terrifying one here is not me, it is you”

Fan Jialuo said, word by word, “Do you know what the only condition is to refine this jade pendant? It is to use its power without restraint, to establish countless causal lines with it, and to have your soul completely corrupted by it. When I devised this plan, I did not expect that you could use it so thoroughly that it firmly believes that you are the most suitable host for it.”

“Lin Nianci, face the truth. The one who pushed you onto this road to damnation was never me, but your own desires.”

Fan Jialuo opened his palm, revealing the piece of Yang jade covered in blood and cracked, and said, “The only thing I did was save a bird and then kill it.”

Looking at the jade that had cracked because of her broken heart, Lin Nianci was overwhelmed with unprecedented sorrow and helplessness.

Yes, looking back, what exactly did Fan Jialuo do? Apart from saving and killing a bird, he did nothing. But with just this small action, he stirred up the demon in Young Master Zhang’s heart, and then Young Master Zhang awakened the demon in Lin Nianci’s heart.

By spreading the word that ‘Tianshui Sect’s sacred treasure had been lost to the outside world’, Lin Nianci successfully brought to life the greedy ghouls hiding inside the souls of those nine sect leaders……

One by one, they linked firmly together, finally turning into this ending today. The dragon vein was saved, the nine leaders who could caused the disaster of destroying the world died, and then her master committed suicide, and then her master’s death broke Lin Nianci’s heart, so that she is also about to die……

Lin Nianci smiled as she thought about it, her voice hoarse, “What a brilliant calculation, Fan Jialuo. You truly possess a terrifyingly deep mind. I must have been a chess piece that you hand-picked with the utmost care, wasn’t I?”

“That’s right, but I chose you not because you’re easy to control, but because you’re very good.”

Fan Jialuo gently stroked Lin Nianci’s hair, his tone as tender as could be, “I do not mean to mock you. You are truly a good person. Because I know that by leaving the Yang Jade in your hands, I can rest eternally beneath the earth in absolute peace. You still possess moral boundaries and a compassionate heart. Your first instinct was not to sacrifice all living souls to heaven, but to perform good deeds and rescue the common people. Even though you have committed many foolish acts, it cannot be denied that countless lives survived solely because of you.”

“If I hadn’t joined the Tianshui Sect, I believe you would have been a good girl and a qualified sect leader. I’m sorry, I owe you. I will bear your sins for you.” Fan Jialuo hugged the distraught Lin Nianci and put the half of the bloodstained jade pendant in his hand together with the half in hers.

“Let’s meet fate’s judgment together.” Fan Jialuo smoothed Lin Nianci’s disheveled hair, his eyes filled with utter compassion and tenderness. At this moment, what grudges could not be let go?

“Shidi, I’m so sorry. I’ve done so many wrong things. I was greedy.” Lin Nianci clutched her aching chest and sincerely repented.

She didn’t expect that when everyone in the world spat upon and cursed her, and even her master left her forever because of disappointment, the first person to tell her ‘you are very good‘ would turn out to be her junior brother.

“Let us work together to correct the mistakes we have made and give back our lives to this world.” Fan Jialuo smiled and shook his head, then activated all his divine power to merge the two jade pendants into one.

There was simply no way for the shattered Yang Jade to withstand the raw, overflowing power violently erupting from within the Yin Jade. As a singular, symbiotic whole, their spiritual currents flowed in a continuous cycle; if even a single piece was compromised, the companion piece would inevitably rupture in tandem. This precise chain reaction was the final objective of Fan Jialuo’s two-hundred-year-long calculation.

Thus, under the dual pressure of internal forces and the divine power of Fan Jialuo, this jade pendant, which was capable of defying the heavens, shattered with a crash.

The clash between the two forces would have turned the entire capital city into ruins, but Fan Jialuo used his divine soul to firmly envelop this world-destroying power.

Realizing what he was trying to do, Lin Nianci poured every ounce of her remaining strength into this small, yet entirely sufficient, barrier that would safeguard all living souls.

The two looked at each other, their lips curving slightly. Then one breathed his last, while the other coughed up blood and struggled to climb back into the circular formation, pressing his palm against the dragon’s mouth.

“Let’s keep our last promise.” Fan Jialuo struggled to lift his head, as if speaking to someone.

A moment later, the dragon’s mouth suddenly opened wide and swallowed his body whole.

In an instant, the slender black dragon grew into a colossal creature. With a gentle flick of its tail, it broke free from the confinement of the two formations, soaring into the sky and truly transforming from a hidden dragon into a divine dragon roaming the heavens. It weaved through the clouds, swallowing the terrifying lightning, dispelling the heavy tribulation clouds, and finally burrowed into the earth, swimming freely in the distance.

It devoured the body of a God, transforming from a small dragon vein into a large one. Henceforth, it would honor its sacred promise with God, keeping watch over this land forever.

Abbot Changjing, who was waiting at the foot of the mountain, seemed to realize what had just happened. Two streams of tears flowed down his face as he murmured with profound sorrow, “The god descended, and the god has fallen. ‘Until the hells are emptied, I shall not attain buddhahood.’ Benefactor Fan has unexpectedly walked the exact same path as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Amituofu, how virtuous, how wonderful……”

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Chapter 291. The Final Judgement (I)

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Having lived for over two hundred years, Lin Nianci had never been so ruthless to herself. Without hesitation, she used the iron ring to saw off her hands and feet and rolled off the high altar.

She lay on the ground, wailing in pain, but she no longer had hands to wipe away her tears, nor feet to run.

In her extreme pain, she couldn’t help but think of the person who had cared for her all her life, so she opened her pale lips and murmured, “Shifu.”

Tears streamed down her reddened eyes, but the person who had gently wiped them away, having seen through her true nature, refused to look at her again.

She fled that day, never looking back. Not out of malice. Not out of apathy. On the contrary, she cared too much. She loved too deeply. And because of that, she couldn’t bring herself to face the condemnation and disappointment in her master’s eyes

If only Fan Jialuo didn’t exist, if only time could turn back and he could be completely erased, my life would be entirely different. In Shifu’s eyes, I will always be the best version of myself from the beginning.

This thought surged from the depths of Lin Nianci’s heart, turning into an obsession that lingered in her mind.

But who can erase Fan Jialuo? Who can turn back time?

Lin Nianci could not find a second answer besides God.

So she chuckled softly, then closed her eyes and silently summoned the orbs of light that she had once bestowed as blessings.

Seeing Lin Nianci’s frantic actions on the surveillance camera, a group of men in black hurriedly pushed open the door, lifted the limbless Lin Nianci onto a stretcher to send her to the hospital. They never expected the Holy Maiden to be capable of such ruthlessness toward herself at a critical moment, she must have gone mad to do such a thing.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the secret chamber, their knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.

Lin Nianci rolled off the crooked stretcher, convulsing in pain, yet letting out a near-maniacal laugh.

One by one, orbs of light struggled to emerge from the men in black’s body, converging into Lin Nianci’s blood-stained body, causing her to rapidly grow new hands and feet. She stood up, bracing herself against the wall, and walked out along the winding corridor, leaving behind bright red handprints and bloody footprints.

She was like a demon crawling out of hell, her eyes filled with insane killing intent.

These followers abandoned her, so she would abandon them in return. All the talk of merit, faith, incense offerings, and becoming a god through good deeds, it’s all a lie. The path to godhood is so simple, obtain the jade pendant, refine it, and that’s it.

As Lin Nianci traveled, she summoned the scattered orbs of light throughout the world, even bringing back the two orbs of light within Xuan Chengzi’s body.

Meanwhile, Fan Jialuo, who had been sleeping in the nether pit, awoke and let out a long sigh.

“You’re awake?” Song Rui had been coming down to the basement to check on him every hour.

“I’m awake.” Fan Jialuo walked to the entrance, put on his leather shoes, and said calmly, “The final judgement I’ve been waiting for is about to arrive.”

Song Rui’s heart skipped a beat, and he almost lost his smile. The phrase ‘final judgement’ didn’t sound like a nice thing.

“Where are you going? I’ll take you.” But he didn’t ask any more questions, and simply went along with the man’s every move.

“Let’s go find Fan Kaixuan first, and then bring Yangyang back. How about we have a meal together at home?” Fan Jialuo asked with a smile.

“Okay. I’ll call Fan Kaixuan and ask where he is. Then I’ll pick Yangyang up from school and go to the supermarket to buy groceries.” Song Rui readily agreed, then asked, “I remember neither you nor Yangyang have a sense of taste?”

“Yes, but eating is just a ceremony, it’s good as long as the whole family is together.”

“No, it’s not just a ceremony. I also want to make up for what you guys are missing. My cooking is so good, but you can’t taste any of it. Isn’t that a waste? I’ll figure out a way.” Song Rui started the engine, speaking with absolute certainty

Fan Jialuo rested his chin on his hand and watched him silently, a relaxed and pleasant smile on his lips, “In my heart, you are omnipotent. If you say you have a way, then you definitely have a way. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I suddenly feel immense pressure.” Song Rui sighed softly, then chuckled lightly, “But you can really look forward to it.”

They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, their bright pupils reflecting only the warmth and happiness of the present moment, even though they both understood that the final judgement might mean a new beginning, or it might mean the end of everything——

Fan Kaixuan walked down to the company’s entrance himself, waiting to receive them both.

Fan Jialuo asked directly, “Where is Mr. Ding Yu?”

“He’s out on business. Do you need him for something? ” Fan Kaixuan took out his phone, “I’ll have him come back right away.”

“Okay, tell him to hurry, because if he’s too late, you might not even exist anymore.” Fan Jialuo said these alarming words in a calm tone.

“You mean I’ll disappear?” Fan Kaixuan was stunned.

“Yes, exactly. So please have Mr. Ding hurry up. You don’t want to leave him all by himself in this world, do you?” Fan Jialuo asked earnestly.

Fan Kaixuan’s face tensed up for a brief second, and he immediately dialed Ding Yu’s number. Meanwhile, Song Rui spoke up from where he stood, his voice calm and casual, “I don’t want to be left alone in this world either.”

This time, it was Fan Jialuo’s turn to be stunned. He grasped Dr. Song’s hand, which felt even colder than his own, and had a lot to say, but in the end, he didn’t know where to begin, “It won’t come to that, you have to trust me. Even if I am dragged down to hell, I will crawl my way back out.”

He made a desperate, solemn promise, “I’ve done it once, and I can do it a second time. No matter what happens, please don’t ever forget our promise. You must believe, with everything you have, that we will find each other again.”

Song Rui squeezed his hand in a tight, desperate grip, unable to find his voice. We will find each other again. The sheer weight of what that implied sent a deathly chill straight to his heart. To be reunited meant they first had to be separated, and again could mean waiting for a lifetime that might never end.

Sometimes he truly loathed his own ability to grasp details. Words that would sound reassuring to others would only be stripped bare of their original meaning to him, reduced to the cruelest truth. He understood that Fan Jialuo was saying goodbye to him.

Or rather, a final goodbye in death. That would be a more accurate way to put it.

In the unusual silence, Ding Yu rushed into the office, sweating profusely. Before he could even sit down, he asked breathlessly, “Teacher Fan, has Kaixuan run into trouble again?”

“Make another wish——as long as you live, Fan Kaixuan will live. He is like water without roots in this world, without any blood ties, existing only because of a causal thread. Now, someone wants to sever this causal thread, so he will disappear along with it.”

“By making this wish, you are transferring his causal link from this jade to yourself. So even if this jade disappears, he can continue to exist because of your existence.”

Fan Jialuo turned to look at Fan Kaixuan and asked, “You don’t have any objections, do you?”

Fan Kaixuan, who was once so afraid of having his fate controlled by others, smiled easily and fearlessly this time, “No objection. You’re right, I existed because of Xiao Yu. If he dies, I die. We will always be together.”

Ding Yu’s eyes reddened, and he couldn’t help but hug his lover’s shoulders, snuggling close to him.

Song Rui was deeply moved, his eyes trembling slightly. Dying together is indeed the best ending for all love stories.

Fan Jialuo seemed to hear his thoughts, and suddenly stared straight at him, saying earnestly, “Dr. Song, you must not follow their example.”

Song Rui immediately shut down his mind, preventing any thoughts from escaping.

Fan Jialuo wanted to say something more, but then paused for a moment. He then handed the jade pendant in his palm to Ding Yu and urged, “Make a wish quickly and try to awaken it with the utmost sincerity.”

Ding Yu’s love for Fan Kaixuan was beyond question, and so his wish was fulfilled in no time. Fan Kaixuan clearly felt that there was a bond between him and his lover, stronger than blood ties, deeper than love, and even far exceeding the limits of life, it was a true connection of souls.

“What a beautiful wish.” Fan Kaixuan murmured, clutching his heart.

Upon hearing this, Ding Yu, who shared the same sentiment, couldn’t help but laugh.

However, in the next instant, their relaxed expressions turned to astonishment. The jade pendant had melted into a tiny speck of light, piercing through the glass window and flying towards an unknown distance. If Fan Jialuo had not arrived in time, Fan Kaixuan would likely have also vanished into a speck of light like the jade pendant.

Thinking of that scene, Ding Yu broke out in a cold sweat. Just as he was about to say a few words of gratitude, he saw that Fan Jialuo had already led Song Rui to stand up and politely take his leave.

He seemed to be in a hurry, coming and going in a rush, leaving no room for anyone to stop him. ——

At 6:30 p.m., the family of three sat around the dining table together, looking at the steaming dishes.

“Gege, do we have to eat too?” Xu Yiyang licked his lips, wanting to eat but not daring to touch his chopsticks. For him, the food he once longed for most had now become completely superfluous. No matter how wonderful the taste was in his memory, it was just a lump of mud when he ate it.

“From now on, you can eat whatever you want.” Fan Jialuo affectionately patted Xu Yiyang’s head.

“But none of the food tastes good.” Xu Yiyang pouted and shook his head.

“My cooking is sure to be delicious.” Song Rui put a piece of braised pork in his mouth and chewed, then spread out his left hand and instructed, “Put your hand on me.”

Fan Jialuo placed his hand on it and, through a strong synesthesia, ‘tasted’ the braised pork that Dr. Song savored in his mouth. It was that long-lost sensation. Rich but not greasy, lean but not dry, drenched in a savory, aromatic sauce, and melting right in the mouth. He was stunned for a moment, and then, like a child, he licked his bright red lips, as if they were covered with glistening meat juice.

Seeing his adorable eating manners, Song Rui couldn’t help but chuckle.

Fan Jialuo blushed, then couldn’t help but laugh. He took Xu Yiyang’s hand and shared his feelings with him.

Xu Yiyang quickly exclaimed excitedly, “It’s so delicious! The braised pork is really super delicious!”

Song Rui picked up another piece of fresh and tender fish, which made the two of them lick their lips repeatedly, and their mouths unconsciously secreted a lot of drool.

The three of them held hands and sat in a circle, happily sharing their dinner. Whatever Song Rui ate, the other two would exclaim in admiration. This scene was somewhat comical, yet it concealed a heartbreaking truth.

After finishing their meal, Xu Yiyang said contentedly, “Song Rui Gege, can we eat together like this every day from now on?”

Song Rui’s smile faded, but Fan Jialuo took out a small bottle filled with red liquid from his pocket and said with a smile, “As I said before, from now on you can eat like a normal child, and you can enjoy the most delicious things in the world to your heart’s content.”

This promise made Xu Yiyang scream with excitement. He never doubted a word his Gege said.

“Let’s go watch TV.” Fan Jialuo’s suggestion immediately diverted the child’s attention, so he happily ran into the living room and turned on the TV.

“Are you lying to him?” Even as he said it, Song Rui felt it was impossible, because Fan Jialuo never lied to anyone.

“Keep this bottle safe. When everything is over, feed the contents to Xu Yiyang.”

“Can’t you feed him yourself? That means…… you might not make it back, right?” Accepting the bottle, Song Rui shook his head with a hollow, bitter smile.

Fan Jialuo lowered his head, hiding his sadness. But Song Rui didn’t press the matter. Instead, he held a cup full of water in both hands and said softly, “Do you remember the first time we met? You said that water knows all the answers, so I won’t ask you anything or confess anything. Just feel it for yourself.”

He pushed the cup toward Fan Jialuo, then got up and went to the living room.

After a long while, Fan Jialuo, having calmed down, picked up the cup, drank the water in it in one gulp, and then showed a surprised expression.

He thought Dr. Song would pour all his bitterness, entanglement, reluctance, and pain into this glass of water, but to his surprise, there wasn’t a single drop of those negative emotions. Instead, it was full of longing, love, encouragement, and support.

This water has a strong, pure sweetness, a sweetness that Fan Jialuo had never tasted while he was alive.

He tightened his grip on the completely empty cup, yet his heart was filled to the very brim. Then, unable to stop himself, he let out a soft chuckle.——

As night fell, countless orbs of light streaked across the sky, like a grand meteor shower.

Ordinary people cannot see such a scene, but Yuan Zhongzhou and other spiritualists were standing in an open space, looking up at the view. Their faces did not show the enjoyment of the beautiful scenery, but rather a deep worry.

They all took out their phones to text Teacher Fan, and unanimously said the same thing, “A huge disaster is coming.”

“I will handle it, don’t worry. Every cloud has a silver lining, this disaster might turn into a good thing.” Fan Jialuo reassured everyone.

Soon, his prophecy came true. After these orbs of light were summoned back, the strange beings lurking in the darkness revealed their true forms one by one and lost their eerie abilities to wreak havoc on society.

Bizarre news stories kept breaking in newspapers, social media, and public media. For example, in a women-only hot spring, a man who could become invisible was suddenly exposed and severely beaten.

The leader of a cult that claimed to be able to fly and do anything was seriously injured when he fell from a great height while performing ‘flying’ for his followers.

A man walking on the road suddenly split open, and a black cat ran out of his stomach, leaving behind an empty shell.

A muscular, strong man who was committing a robbery suddenly shrank into a skinny, weakling.

Similar strange occurrences emerged one after another, as if every demon and monster hiding in the dark corners had suddenly lost its power and revealed its true form. This phenomenon caused panic among the public, but it was a great boon for the government.

Those extremely dangerous individuals that Meng Zhong had tried every means to capture but could not have been apprehended have now all been brought to justice, and the world has suddenly become much more peaceful.

But no one knew that a far greater disaster was lurking behind this peace.——

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Chapter 290. Lin Nianci’s Debt (II)

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TN:- !!!WARNING!!! This chapter contains sensitive, disturbing or inappropriate content. Reader’s discretion is advised.

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The piece of jade Yi Jiangnan was currently carving could hardly be called a quality piece. A fragile, shallow jade belt was trapped horizontally between dense blocks of hideous black, gray, and murky green impurities. To make matters worse, that thin layer of jade was completely flawed, streaked with white spots, it was utterly worthless for making jewelry.

Simply put, this rock was just a piece of leftover waste discarded by the stone-cutter while working on someone else’s boulder. The kind of worthless debris tossed aside that nobody would ever bother to pick up.

But Yi Jiangnan took a liking to it at first sight, spent several thousand yuan to buy it, placed it in his studio, looked at it day and night, and spent six years looking at it before he began to carve it. Then it took another three years to finally make it into what it is today.

The thin, shallow jade belt was carved by Yi Jiangnan into a surging river, with white spots interspersed within it becoming shimmering waves on the surface. The blackish-gray or dark green impurities at both ends were carved into clusters of majestic trees, including towering pines, dreamlike weeping willows, and wild banyan trees.

If they didn’t see it with their own eyes, no one would believe that the ugly scrap would eventually become such an exquisite work of art.

From afar, it resembles a lifelike river imagery, up close, it becomes a real world. When you get close enough, you can even faintly smell a slightly fishy odor from the water vapor and hear the roar of surging waves.

Lin Nianci’s eyes widened with shock as she took in the intricate carving, and the man whose hands were deftly sculpting it.

The terrifyingly dense spiritual qi surged before her eyes, almost tempting her to pounce on it.

But now was not the time. She could feel the spiritual qi within the carving was still surging wildly. No one could predict how exquisite it would be upon true completion, or just how brilliantly its qi would spill out, forcing its fortune upon anyone nearby. It was nothing short of a national treasure, fully capable of rivaling any relic that had survived the passage of a thousand years.

This man named Yi Jiangnan had no idea what kind of miracle he was creating.

Lin Nianci’s internal organs were already rotting, and a foul-smelling blood welled up in her throat, which she forcefully swallowed. Her skin was also aging rapidly, and deep wrinkles covered her once incomparably beautiful face, causing her anxiety to increase every second.

She stumbled to the side and slumped onto a seat, her bloodshot eyes locked onto the river imagery like a starving beast that had just sighted its prey.

However, Yi Jiangnan was completely unaware of her gaze, and even unaware of her presence.

He poured his entire being, body and soul, into this creation.

Three days later, he put down his tools and stared intently at the beautiful scene, his bright eyes gradually welling up with tears.

Nine years later, he finally sculpted the magnificent landscape he envisioned, pouring his heart and soul into it, transforming it into a masterpiece that will be passed down through generations. He slowly stepped back, a happy smile playing on his lips.

However, the smile lasted only a moment before turning into horror and disbelief.

He saw a pair of hands, thin as withered branches, cover his work, and then, without knowing what the other person did, the magnificent river imagery turned to ashes inch by inch before his very eyes.

It had literally turned to ash, this was no mere figure of speech. A thick layer of the powdery white residue had actually settled over his leather shoes, completely burying them.

He turned to look at the owner of the hands and asked blankly, “What did you do to this carving?”

Lin Nianci completely ignored him, focusing instead on absorbing the sweet, nectar-like spiritual essence. This was why she cherished these relics most, as absorbing them was effortless, a true pleasure. Unlike those dragon veins, where each bit of digestion felt like being cut with a dull knife.

Her aged face regained its youthful beauty at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Yi Jiangnan’s eyes widened as recognition hit him. This person was actually Miss Lin, the woman who had supplied him with endless national treasures to study and inspired him to hone his skills to perfection. He had always thought she was a good person.

“What did you do to my work?” Yi Jiangnan asked again, his tone calm and his expression blank. He was a high-functioning autistic person, and it was already quite difficult for him to speak on his own initiative.

Lin Nianci said calmly, “Continue working. I will provide you with more jade. If you need anything else, you can tell them.” She pointed to a group of bodyguards standing at the door, then walked away without looking back.

Yi Jiangnan loves sculpting. As long as he has a continuous supply of materials, he can create outstanding works of art indefinitely. He doesn’t know fatigue, doesn’t complain, and doesn’t need freedom. His entire life revolves around sculpting.

Therefore, Lin Nianci did not treat him as a person at all.

But she forgot that even if Yi Jiangnan was autistic, he was still a real person, with flesh and blood, feelings, and thoughts. He could immerse himself completely in his sculptures, so naturally he would also entrust his soul to his works.

Lin Nianci destroyed his works, which is tantamount to destroying his soul. He will feel pain, hatred, and rebellion.

Moreover, he has an extremely high IQ, he is a genius. He figured out things he would never have thought of before in an instant.

If Lin Nianci could ruin this masterpiece, then what had become of his previous works? What would happen to the national treasures she had brought to him? Was total destruction truly their shared and only destiny?

For an artist, such behavior is tantamount to heinous crime.

Clutching his head, Yi Jiangnan fell to his knees amidst the scattered white ash. Massive tears rolled down his cheeks, striking the floor and hollow-out tiny craters in the dust. He opened his mouth and let out a silent roar, the throbbing pain in his heart almost making him faint.

He knelt in the white ash all night until the next day, when the man in black opened the studio door and urged, “Miss Lin wants you to start working right away.”

Yi Jiangnan turned around blankly, revealing a haggard and distorted face and a pair of bloodshot eyes.

Seeing his ferocious appearance, the man in black seemed surprised, but still repeated, “Hurry up.”

Yi Jiangnan stood up, took out his tools, walked to a black stone as tall as himself, and began to chisel. He was never one for words, only focused on his work. Seeing that he had returned to normal, the man in black closed the door and left.

Yi Jiangnan worked tirelessly for seven days and seven nights, his palms raw and bleeding, yet he never stopped. If the assistant hadn’t checked on him from time to time, feeding and watering him, he probably would have died in the studio.

Upon hearing of his erratic behavior, the man in black rushed back to the villa. The moment his gaze swept over the scene, he froze. For this time, the piece Yi Jiangnan had carved was actually a statue of a wrathful diety. Its face was as hideous and terrifying as a demon’s, its eyes blazed with a raging fury, and the entire sculpture seemed infused with a boundless, living spirit.

At first glance, the man in black was so startled that he took several steps back.

Immediately afterward, he let out a cry of surprise and uncertainty. This was because standing beside this wrathful deity was a humanoid mass of malevolent qi, so dense it resembled a demon that had just crawled out of hell.

The man in black had received Lin Nianci’s blessing and could sense many extraordinary things. His intuition told him that this humanoid malevolent qi and this wrathful deity were both extremely dangerous objects.

However, when the assistant inquired about his unusual silence, he didn’t utter a word. Instead, a phantom grin played on his lips as he walked out with long, purposeful strides.

Another half month passed, and Yi Jiangnan finally finished carving the wrathful deity. The deity’s body and limbs were only roughly sculpted, but the angry face was repeatedly polished and modified until it became lifelike and vivid.

The long-awaited humanoid malevolent qi quietly merged into the statue, transforming into a touch of divine charm in the eyes of the wrathful deity.

Yi Jiangnan stared at the statue in shock, a strange feeling creeping over him. In that single instant, he felt like the carving had come to life. It had breath. It had a heartbeat. It had a mind. Its anger was so real, so overpowering, that looking through its eyes was like looking straight into a blood-soaked hell lined with lava.

He took two steps back, his fingertips trembling slightly, unable to grip the heavy carving knife.

Hearing the sound of tools falling to the ground, the assistant pushed open the door and came in. When he saw the deity statue with its eyes radiating divine light, he was so frightened that he screamed on the spot.

So, a little over an hour later, this extraordinary deity was transported to another location where Lin Nianci was staying.

The spiritual qi provided by the Imagery had been completely depleted, and she had once again become old, weak, and ugly. Until she found a way to completely sever the karmic relationship, she could only survive by absorbing spiritual qi.

The statue, imbued with spiritual essence, arrived at just the right time, so much so that she placed her hand on the face of the wrathful deity without even glancing at it, eagerly absorbing the sweet nectar.

But this time she was wrong. What flowed into her body was no longer pure spiritual qi, but rather countless silver needles, as thin as cow’s hair, formed from malevolent qi. They instantly pierced her blood vessels, wandering through her meridians, muscles, and even every cell, bringing her endless pain.

The agony was even more intense than her last disgrace. It had anchored itself in the depths of her soul, a permanent shackle that she could absolutely never break free from.

Lin Nianci’s internal organs were almost instantly shredded into pieces, and thick, dark blood gushed from her throat. Instead of helping her, the many followers guarding her took turns collecting her blood, each holding a silver cup.

She writhed on the ground in agony, her body shifting between a gaunt, skeletal appearance and a lush, beautiful bloom. Her soul, too, was constantly being torn apart and healed, repeating a cycle worse than death.

She reached out to the followers for help, but they only stared at her with greedy eyes.

She looked up at the wrathful deity, only to discover that its face was exactly the same as Bai Mu’s. He lowered his eyes and glared at her, his pupils spitting fire, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a crazy smile.

Lin Nianci was stunned. Just as she was about to see what was going on, a follower grabbed her hair and dragged her into the adjacent secret room. A group of followers dressed in black hooded robes surrounded her, emitting sharp shouts as if they were participating in a carnival.

Each of them held a silver cup filled with Lin Nianci’s blood.

The leader, a man in black, drank the blood in one gulp and silently savored it.

The others watched him with bated breath.

Several other people quickly tied Lin Nianci to a circular altar, welding her hands and feet shut with iron rings.

“How did it go?” Someone asked nervously.

“The news from cultivators is true, her blood is the elixir of immortality! I have gained more power, it’s true!” The man in black raised his silver cup high and roared like a wild beast.

Seeing his radiant face, the others couldn’t wait to finish the blood in their cups.

A series of swallowing sounds filled the air, but to Lin Nianci, they sounded like the whispers of demons. She gradually realized what these people were planning. They were just like the monsters in Xianghuo Village, intending to eat her flesh and drink her blood.

No, no, no, that’s impossible! Her followers wouldn’t be that cruel!

However, this self-deceptive idea was quickly shattered. Discovering that Lin Nianci’s blood indeed had miraculous effects, these people took out the small knives they had prepared beforehand, lined up, and walked to the altar to slice off her flesh.

“Thank you for the Holy Maiden’s blessing.” Each of them would kneel beside Lin Nianci and say this in a devout tone, but they would show no mercy when they struck.

In just a few minutes, a large chunk of Lin Nianci’s right thigh was sliced off, exposing the stark white bone.

She screamed in agony, trying to drain the life force of these people, but Bai Mu transformed into a cloud of black mist, entering her body and firmly locking down her magnetic field, preventing her from retaliating. As long as Bai Mu’s soul remained intact, her magnetic field could not be released.

Just how powerful was Bai Mu’s soul?

The Star of Solitude curse’s ten lifetimes’ energy have fused into one. It’s plenty enough to cage Lin Nianci right here until she rots.

The excruciating torture, akin to being slowly sliced to death, finally ended. These people held thin slices of flesh and swallowed them raw on the spot.

Some people were still not satisfied and were greedily staring at Lin Nianci’s other leg.

The man in black scolded, “Don’t do something that kills the goose that lays the golden eggs. Let her rest and recover properly.”

Everyone quickly voiced their agreement and emptied the room in an orderly queue. A short while later, several doctors entered and tended to Lin Nianci’s wounds. They actually intended to keep her trapped here forever, treating her like livestock for flesh and blood. What a horrific act!

Lin Nianci broke down, wailing like a child, her frail body trembling as if it were about to fall apart.

The doctors remained unmoved, drew a few vials of her blood, picked up their medical kits, and left without looking back.

Aside from Xuan Chengzi, had Lin Nianci ever spared a single shred of concern for another living soul? In her eyes, the human race consisted of only two things—— herself and her master, and everyone else who were mere objects to be used. Those objectified people were treating her with that exact same cruelty, trapping her in a ceaseless, bone-crushing millstone purgatory.

In her extreme pain, she vaguely remembered Fan Jialuo’s words——I foresee that you still have three debts to repay……

So, is everything she’s going through right now just paying off a debt?

The first debt was to Bai Mu, the second to Yi Jiangnan, and the third to her followers. It turned out that everyone gathered around her was actually her creditor.

Thinking of this, Lin Nianci’s tears flowed uncontrollably, and the anger and despair in her heart burned like karmic fire.

She thought resentfully, those bad things were done by others, what does it have to do with me? Heaven is so unfair!

Then, she recalled another sentence from Fan Jialuo—— Without merging the Yang Jade back together and refining it into a part of your own body, you’re nothing but a sad little bug I can squash on a whim.

“No, I’m not a sad little bug. Fan Jialuo, you wait, just like before…… I can absolutely end your life this time around.” Lin Nianci gritted her teeth and began to rapidly refine those dragon veins. Then, while screaming in pain, she used the iron ring to sever her own hands and feet.

Bal Mu hidden within her body was also refined along with it.

Feeling the surging, boundless power gathering within her body, Lin Nianci suddenly understood.

So it turned out that the path to godhood had been right there beside her all along, so agonizingly close that all she had to do was look down to see it!

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Chapter 289. Lin Nianci’s Debt (I)

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TN-: 2 Chapters!!

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After Fan Jialuo left, the disciples of the Tianshui Sect finally found Xuan Chengzi kneeling by the black lake.

Abbot Changjing also rushed over upon hearing the news, and looked at the thick black miasma floating in the center of the lake with great astonishment. Casting his gaze across the area, he could see nothing but sins, bad karma, yin qi, death aura, as well as the cries of countless infant spirits and the desperate screams of women.

“A place of absolute evil?” He could hardly believe his eyes, and said in a trembling voice, “How could there be such a place of absolute evil on earth?”

“Why can’t there be?” Xuan Chengzi turned around, revealing a face that was rapidly aging. After his Dao Heart shattered, his cultivation was dissipating at a rapid pace.

“A place of absolute evil…… isn’t it right here?” He pointed to the black lake in front of him, then to his own heart.

Abbot Changjing could not utter a single word except for constantly chanting the Buddha’s name.

From then on, he lived in a tent by the lakeside, dedicating every day to chanting the Sutra of Redemption. But nothing worked. No matter how deep his devotion, he was powerless to turn the black lake clear again.

This lake was destined to be the road from the human world to hell.

After leaving Xianghuo Village, Xuan Chengzi did not immediately return to his sect, but instead went to City B.

“Shifu, what are you doing?” Taoist Zhi Fei followed along, increasingly finding Xuan Chengzi’s behavior strange. He had gone so far as to destroy the stone lions standing before multiple properties. He blinded the eyes of some, shattered the teeth or horns of others, and used his Palm Thunder to obliterate the rest. There was no end to his destructive methods.

Xuan Chengzi didn’t answer his question. He just wandered around the city silently for three days and three nights, damaging forty-nine stone lions, before waving wearily, “Let’s go back.”

The group then returned to the main Tianshui Sect, hidden in the Wolong Mountains. As they passed the stone stele standing in front of the mountain gate, Xuan Chengzi stopped and stared at the words on it for a long time with his reddened eyes.

【Save all living souls, protect the common people, keep order in Taoist sects, aid the nation’s destiny, promote the righteousness of heaven and earth, and uphold the Great Tao.】

Every word on this stone was etched in Xuan Chengzi’s mind, but looking back on his life, which one had he actually accomplished?

Thinking of this, his already aging face showed even deeper wrinkles, and his once upright posture finally hunched over. In an instant, he became old and frail, on the verge of death.

“Shifu!”

“Shizu!”

The disciples who came to greet Xuan Chengzi stood still and greeted him, but dared not step forward to acknowledge him, those disciples who had come down the mountain with Xuan Chengzi, experienced the trial of Fan Jialuo, and witnessed the tragic situation in Xianghuo Village all closed their eyes and showed sorrowful expressions.

Those disciples who have never left the sect are probably unaware that the Tianshui Sect has been labeled a heretical cult and faces suppression. The government has demolished their Taoist Temples, and the entire Taoist alliance can no longer tolerate their existence. They have no place to stand in this world.

Moving forward, the moment any of them pull stunts outside using the Tianshui Sect as backing, the cultivators of other sects will rip them apart as a collective group, and the ordinary people will hand them right over to the cops.

This is all thanks to Song Enci, and also to Xuan Chengzi. Having raised such a disciple, how can he possibly have the face to stand before this stone stele and revere the rules left by his ancestors? Did he honestly not fear that his actions would make the ancestors break out of their tombs to kill him themselves?

Thinking this, Chang Sheng and the others all showed resentful expressions.

Xuan Chengzi sensed something, turned around and glanced at them. Seeing that they hurriedly lowered their heads, seemingly hiding their emotions, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

He knelt down and kowtowed three times to the stone stele, then stepped up the seemingly endless stone steps.

Tianshui Palace stands at the end of the stone steps, high on the mountaintop, amidst pure white, ethereal clouds, a breathtakingly beautiful sight, like a fairyland.

But the Tianshui Palace in Xuan Chengzi’s heart was already a ruin.

He was too old to walk, with each step, a dull ache shot through his weary heart. The disciples following behind him tried to support him, but he brushed them all away. Even if he were to die today, he would crawl through the mountain gate and die before his ancestors.

Fortunately, his health hadn’t deteriorated to that extent, and he finally arrived at the Hall of Heroes after more than an hour.

“Bring in Xuan Yangzi’s spirit tablet.” He said breathlessly.

Taoist Zhi Fei hurriedly went to bring the spirit tablet.

The disciples standing around the room all spoke up to stop them, “Shizu, Xuan Yangzi is a sinner who killed the dragon vein. How can you allow his spirit tablet to enter the Hall of Heroes?”

“What nonsense are you spouting! Xuan Yangzi Shishuzu is absolutely not a sinner!” Before Xuan Chengzi could even speak, Chang Sheng roared angrily.

Suppressing his rising anger, he recounted that distant past with brutal honesty. Though his narrative was heavily laced with scathing attacks on the entire Tianshui Sect, Xuan Chengzi unexpectedly remained silent and did not utter a single word to stop him.

“Things are just as your ShiXiong described. So, do you still think that Xuan Yangzi’s spirit tablet is not worthy of being placed in the Hall of Heroes?” Xuan Chengzi said in a deep voice after Chang Sheng finished speaking.

Everyone fell silent, their faces filled with shame and remorse. Then, they felt a deep sense of relief, thankful they hadn’t gone down the mountain with their master this time, otherwise, wouldn’t they have been utterly humiliated?

Standing in that situation as a disciple of the Tianshui Sect must have been more painful than being skinned alive.

Does the Tianshui Sect have any future? Its lineage has been severed, what’s the point of cultivating the Tao?

Everyone’s thoughts began to waver. Xuan Chengzi sensed it, but didn’t pay much attention. He simply took Xuan Yangzi’s spirit tablet, placed it properly on the altar, burned three sticks of incense, kowtowed three times, and slowly said, “From now on, I will no longer be the head of the Tianshui Sect.”

Taoist Zhi Fei’s eyes widened in surprise.

Chang Sheng and the others calmly accepted this reality. Compared to their Xuan Yangzi Shishuzu or Fan Jialuo Shishu, Xuan Chengzi truly did not deserve to stand here.

Xuan Chengzi seemed to know what they were thinking and nodded, saying, “That’s right, I’m not worthy. Looking back on my life, every decision I’ve made has been wrong. Forcing Fan Jialuo to use the Double Fish Jade Pendant to revive Xuan Yangzi was wrong, attempting to replace the true successor and appoint Song Enci as Holy Child was wrong, taking the Double Fish Jade Pendant from Fan Jialuo and giving it to Song Enci was wrong, spoiling Song Enci without any principles was wrong, passing on all the forbidden techniques of the Tianshui Sect to Song Enci without reservation was wrong, isolating the Tianshui Sect from the secular world was wrong, looking down on ordinary people was wrong.”

“And then there are my two absolute biggest mistakes. First, I blamed Fan Jialuo for something he didn’t do, leaving him to die an unjust death far from home. Second, I was arrogant enough to try and become a god. I haven’t made a single right choice my whole life. Because of me, the Tianshui Sect was dragged into the dirt and ruined.”

Xuan Chengzi slowly sat down on the futon, waving his hand wearily, “You may all leave. From now on, there will be no more Tianshui Sect in the world.”

“Shifu!” Taoist Zhi Fei cried out in alarm, then realized that the Tianshui Sect was no longer what it used to be. A cult had no place in the secular world, its reputation within the metaphysics society was utterly ruined, and it had made so many enemies. If he didn’t disband the disciples, was he going to drag them all down with him?

“Go, everyone disperse. If you truly want to study Taoist arts, then it doesn’t matter where you cultivate. If you just want to learn some skills and then make a living in the secular world, using the Tianshui Sect’s name will only tarnish your reputation. You might as well become independent cultivators.”

Xuan Chengzi said calmly, “All of you, just leave. I am tired.”

The crowd was already restless, and upon hearing this, they gradually began to leave.

Chang Sheng and Chang Zhen knelt down silently, kowtowed three times, and then strode away.

Lin Nian’en said with tears in his eyes, “Shifu, Shizu, I don’t know where to go.” He was an orphan who grew up in the Taoist temple and had long regarded it as his home.

Xuan Chengzi looked at him with affection, and then turned to Taoist Zhi Fei and said, “Go out and establish your own sect, at least leave a branch for my Tianshui Sect. But you must remember, when you recruit disciples in the future, you must carefully observe their character, and do not teach another Song Enci. You must never repeat my mistake.”

Taoist Zhi Fei knelt down, tears streaming down his face, “Shifu, I will definitely carry on the Tianshui Sect’s teaching. I will save all living souls, protect the common people, keep order in Taoist sects, aid the nation’s destiny, promote the righteousness of heaven and earth, and uphold the Great Tao. I will never forget the words on that stone stele. Over the years, I have also made many mistakes. I bear some responsibility for the Tianshui Sect’s decline to this state. It was my failure to properly teach my disciples, which led to the disgrace of the sect. It was my arrogance and disdain for ordinary people that corrupted everyone’s character. My mistakes are no less than yours.”

“Shifu, I will spend the rest of my life correcting these mistakes.” Taoist Zhi Fei kowtowed three times, someone of such an old age, now crying so hard that tears and mucus blurred his face, looking just like an orphaned, miserable child.

From now on, he has no home.

Xuan Chengzi closed his tear-filled eyes and choked out, “It’s good that you know you’re wrong. Go and leave something positive for our Tianshui Sect. The ancestors in heaven are watching you. If you do well, they will bless you. Don’t be like me, where one wrong step leads to another.”

“I understand, Shifu. I will be a good person.” Taoist Zhi Fei kowtowed until his head bled before reluctantly leaving.

Xuan Chengzi then looked at Lin Nian’en and said, “Since you have nowhere to go, then stay here.”

“Thank you, Shizu.” Lin Nian’en’s anxious heart finally settled down.

“You can leave anytime you want.” Xuan Chengzi lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then said, “Your name is not good, I will change it for you.”

Nian’en and Nianci, united, their names speak of longing for Enci. But for a person of that nature…… What is there left to long for?

Xuan Chengzi wet his finger and wrote on the ground, “From this day forth, your name shall be Lin Zheng——the Zheng that stands for the absolute righteousness of the universe.”

“Thank you, Shizu.” Lin Zheng immediately knelt down and kowtowed. Having learned about what happened back then, he actually disliked his own name quite a bit, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“You may leave now. I wish to stay with our ancestors a little longer.” Xuan Chengzi said, dismissing him.

Lin Zheng immediately took his leave.

The hall fell silent instantly, save for the crackling of the burning candles, which sounded like someone sighing softly. Xuan Chengzi listened intently for a moment, his eyes gradually reddening, before he forced his aging body to walk to the back hall, retrieved a box from a hidden compartment, and opened it with trembling hands.

Inside were several scrolls of array diagrams, the paper of which had long since yellowed, but the annotations made with cinnabar ink were still as bright as new.

Xuan Chengzi stroked the words, and tears finally fell silently.

These array diagrams belonged to Xuan Yangzi, and the annotations on them also came from him. When he destroyed the Heaven-Sacrifice Array, he forgot to destroy the scrolls he had consulted, and he also forgot that there were annotations left on them.

As the top cultivator, Xuan Chengzi’s comprehension was undoubtedly exceptional. With just a few strokes, he had deciphered the Heaven Sacrifice Array and even made some improvements. After Song Enci’s ‘death’, he was once trapped in despair from which he could not extricate himself, and thus inner demons arose, causing his mind to become chaotic.

Back then, Xuan Yangzi only thought about it and never took action, but Xuan Chengzi secretly went to City B, broke down the sacrificial array into smaller arrays, drew them on the forty-nine stone lions, and placed them at the corresponding array eyes.

By activating just one of the array’s cores, he could sacrifice the lives of eight million people in City B to become a god. After becoming a god, he would retrieve Song Enci’s soul from the underworld and reassemble a physical body for her.

The future that Fan Jialuo foresaw was the horrific scene after the Heaven Sacrifice Array was activated. The blood of eight million people would be enough to form a crimson ocean, meandering through the desolate city, with countless wronged souls floating on the surging blood-red waves, uttering cries of resentment.

At that moment, heaven and earth grieved together, the sun and moon changed color, and the human world became a hell……

If Fan Jialuo hadn’t appeared, hadn’t exposed the truth, and hadn’t dealt Xuan Chengzi a heavy blow, that future would have been almost certain.

Now, holding these incredible scrolls, he walked step by step to the outer hall, burned them to ashes, and finally knelt before the ancestral tablets for a long time to repent.

After kneeling on the mountain for three days and nights, he struck his own head with a palm thunder and committed suicide on the spot.

Three days later, Lin Zheng discovered his body and immediately broke down in tears.

The Tianshui Sect, which had been prominent for thousands of years, finally collapsed and ceased to exist.

Lin Nianci fled to Xiaotang Town overnight, borrowed a passerby’s phone to make a call, and was picked up by a low-key luxury car in less than half an hour. Given attentive care throughout the journey, she was whisked away to be placed in safe hiding within the neighboring province’s capital.

“Holy Maiden, you are seriously injured. Shall we take you to the hospital first?” A man in black who was guarding her along the way said respectfully.

“I need spiritual luck.” Lin Nianci said, then clutched her chest, feeling a sudden pang of fear. In that brief moment, something terrible seemed to have happened.

“We’ve replaced all the exhibits in the museum that we could. Items with good fortune are hard to find on the market now.” The man in black said in a low voice, “However, we’ve discovered a pleasant surprise that you’ll surely be satisfied with.”

“What pleasant surprise?” Lin Nianci coughed up a mouthful of blood, unable to think about the ominous premonition she had just had.

The man in black stared at her blood-stained lips, his eyes flashing.

“You’ll see when you get there.” He took out a handkerchief and said gently, “Please wipe your mouth first.”

Lin Nianci hastily wiped the blood from her face, then leaned back in her chair and fell asleep. These men in black were all her followers, and they were extremely loyal to her.

In the more than one hundred years since she left the Tianshui Sect, she has secretly founded a sect called the Holy Maiden Sect. She had long discovered that her blessings could grant ordinary people magical powers, so she used this method to win over a large number of followers.

She bestows more strength upon the loyal and devoted, while draining the life force from those with ulterior motives, thus making an example of them and eventually raising a pack of incredibly obedient dogs.

With the dog by her side, she could certainly fall into a deep sleep without worry.

However, this time, she miscalculated.

After she fell asleep, the man in black wrapped the handkerchief stained with her blood in a plastic bag and silently handed it to his assistant in the front seat. The assistant got out of the car midway and took the handkerchief to the laboratory.

Lin Nianci was taken to a villa in a remote mountain area, where she met a man carving a huge piece of jade rock.

The man in black pointed to the man’s busy back and said softly, “His name is Yi Jiangnan. He can carve artworks imbued with spiritual aura. With him, you will no longer have to worry about a lack of spiritual qi.”

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Chapter 288. Welcome To Purgatory (IV)

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TN:- !!!WARNING!!! This chapter contains sensitive, disturbing or inappropriate content. Reader’s discretion is advised.

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As a psychic, Lin Nianci could perceive things invisible to the naked eye. Thus, the moment she released her magnetic field to shroud her pupils, the pitch-black lake transformed into a massive column of black miasma that shot straight into the sky. It loomed over the entire village, resembling a pack of vicious dragons writhing across the sky.

Xuan Chengzi also activated his Heavenly Eyes, and immediately his face turned pale with horror. He had been slaying demons and monsters for hundreds of years, and had never seen such a vast and intense Yin Qi. Some might even believe that this place was a branch of Hell.

What kind of evil can cause a lake to accumulate so much sin?

Thinking of this, he looked at Fan Jialuo.

Lin Nianci was also terrified and shook her head repeatedly, unable to believe that this was the small mountain village she had blessed back then.

Fan Jialuo walked to her side, half-squatted down, and slowly said, “You should still remember what it originally looked like, right?”

Remember. How could I not remember? The mountains here used to be lush green, not ash grey. The people here used to be simple and honest, not thoroughly evil. The water in this lake used to be crystal clear, not foul and stench-ridden.

What could have caused everything here to become so unrecognizable?

Lin Nianci was entirely devoid of divine insight, which was exactly why she kept failing on her path to godhood. What remained an impenetrable mystery to her, Fan Jialuo had effortlessly deciphered just by glancing at a picture of the dark lake uploaded online.

Lifting his gaze toward the column of black miasma coiling above, he calmly explained, “After you left, the people of this small mountain village became your most devout believers. Because the power of their faith was so overwhelming, they awakened the fragments of light formed by the Yang Jade one after another. Every single one of them had experienced the agony of being on the brink of death, so they harbored an insatiable desire for physical wellness.”

“A simple, harmless desire, wouldn’t you say?” Fan Jialuo asked.

Lin Nianci dared not answer.

Fan Jialuo continued, “Those points of light coalesced into small yang orbs, helping them realize their wishes. The men and women, young and old, in this village indeed became healthier than ordinary people, and never fell ill throughout the year. Seeing such results, their faith in you became even more devout.”

“What happens when you are healthy?” Fan Jialuo asked again.

Lin Nianci’s eyes darted around, completely failing to understand what could possibly be wrong with such a simple desire.

Song Rui analyzed, “With better health, life expectancy increases, and the birth rate will also increase.”

Fan Jialuo nodded, “Dr. Song is right. When people are healthy, they live longer and their birth rate increases. So the people in this village started having a lot of children, and the population expanded rapidly. There wasn’t enough space for many people here, so they moved up the mountain or to the other side of the mountain. As a result, a small village eventually became a town, and your followers also increased.”

“But prosperity is short-lived. When the wars began, the imperial army seized all the local men because of their strength. Swords are blind in the chaos of battle, what good is perfect health when you’re facing a blade? Thus, your believers shifted their prayers. They began to desire for power, desperate to simply stay alive in an age of endless bloodshed.”

“Those Yang jades once again fulfilled their desire for power.”

“Of the men who were taken, only a rare few returned alive. The rest perished on the battlefield. What was once a massive, bustling town withered away, shrinking right back into a tiny mountain village.”

“In that era of widespread suffering and dwindling population, reproduction was the most important word.”

“What does reproduction require?” Fan Jialuo asked abruptly.

Lin Nianci’s mind couldn’t keep up with his thoughts at all, and she could only look back blankly.

“Both men and women.” Song Rui said calmly.

Fan Jialuo nodded and said, “Yes, reproduction requires both men and women, but for the people here, reproduction seems to depend solely on men, with women merely serving as tools. In that era, such a mindset was taken as a law of nature. Did you foresee this outcome? The evil you unleashed finally began to rear its ugly head.”

Lin Nianci’s eyes flickered repeatedly, unable to understand what those words meant.

Xuan Chengzi looked at the lake filled with the aura of death, his eyes reddening.

“The men who returned alive became mutants, their bodies were extremely strong, and the women who survived were the same. They began to reproduce frantically, reproduce, reproduce…… But the war-torn land could not support so many people, so some people secretly threw female infants into this lake.”

“First it was one or two, then three or four. Once most people learned of this secret and got used to it, all the female infants born here were sent here.”

Lin Nianci snapped her head toward the lake, her eyes widening in sheer horror as if she were staring at some kind of abomination.

Fan Jialuo nodded and said, “True. It is an abomination that devours humanity. Keep the boys, drown the girls, this horrific practice actually became a clan law here, strictly upheld generation after generation. Then, a few years later, the women grew resentful and thought ——since childbirth is such an agonizing ordeal, why can’t they just give birth to sons and never bear a daughter again?”

“These women knelt before the statue of the Holy Maiden, praying for blessings so that they would only bear sons and no daughters. This strong desire was heard again by the jade pendants and thus fulfilled. But the women did not know that it was the jade pendants that brought about this ‘miracle.’ Desperate to showcase their resolve to the Holy Maiden, every female in the village gathered that night to drink the lake’s water——the exact water polluted by the corpses of countless drowned female infants.”

Lin Nianci covered her mouth, involuntarily gagging. She couldn’t understand why humans could do such a thing.

Xuan Chengzi closed his eyes, unable to bear the sound.

Song Rui analyzed, “This kind of thing is not uncommon. In those days, some people would strangle their firstborn daughters in order to have a son, and bury them on the road in front of their house, so that passers-by would trample on them repeatedly, in order to frighten the spirits of the infants still floating in the sky and prevent them from being reborn as girls in their family.”

“Yes.” Fan Jialuo closed his eyes, his tone cold and deep, “Some people will stop at nothing to have a son.”

“After praying to your statue and drinking the water from the lake, the women in this village indeed only gave birth to sons and no daughters from then on. They were overjoyed and renamed it Xianghuo(Incense) Village. This miracle spread far and wide, attracting many people who were eager for children.”

“How could the villagers let them take advantage of them for nothing? So they guarded the village entrance and demanded exorbitant prices, making a fortune in the process.”

“But the lake water isn’t what’s causing this ‘all-son anomaly.’ Selling it off is bound to invite massive trouble, right?” Song Rui had already anticipated the horrific truth.

Fan Jialuo nodded and said, “Yes, they had gotten themselves into trouble. But they didn’t think it’s a problem with the water. Instead, they thought it’s because the villagers aren’t having any more daughters, and too few female infants are being sacrificed to the lake, causing the lake to lose its divine power.”

Song Rui shook his head and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Xuan Chengzi opened his tightly closed eyes, revealing a hint of tears.

Lin Nianci did nothing but shake her head in a daze, continuously murmuring under her breath, “No, it’s not true…… it’s not true……”

“Why not?” Fan Jialuo pointed to the pitch-black lake water, “If it’s not true, then how do you explain its existence?”

“Yes, it is precisely as you suspect. The villagers started hunting down female infants from far and wide, tossing them into the waters and glorifying it under the name of a ‘sacred sacrifice’. Yet the lake water failed to manifest any effect on the outside world, cutting off their source of wealth. To make matters worse, drastic shortage of females meant the local men could no longer find wives.”

“At first, they would bring back women from other villages, but these women did not have Yang jade in their bodies, and the children they gave birth to were both boys and girls. The miracle of Xianghuo(Incense) Village finally crumbled into nothing. Yet, that horrific clan law continued to be passed down anyway.”

“The sins of the past were repeated once again, male infants could live, but female infants had to die. What girl would want to marry into such an evil mountain village? As a result, the men here could no longer find wives, because no women from the surrounding areas dared to come.”

“But it doesn’t matter. If a woman doesn’t want to marry, the men here can go out and snatch her, steal her, or abduct her. Whatever means they use, as long as they bring a woman back, it’s proof of their strength. Some of the women who were brought back accepted their fate, some went mad, and some committed suicide. Those women who committed suicide were also thrown into this lake.”

“Later, all the women who died in this village were thrown into this lake as a sacrifice to the Holy Maiden.”

“A new nation has risen. Theft, robbery, abduction, and fraud can no longer procure women in large numbers.” Fan Jialuo stared intently at Lin Nianci and asked, “Tell me, what choice do the men of this village have left?”

Lin Nianci shook her head repeatedly, her tone agitated, “I don’t know, don’t ask me! These things have nothing to do with me!”

Fan Jialuo continued, “If there aren’t enough women, they can make do. One woman can be shared by the whole family or even the whole village, and so everything here is in chaos.”

Song Rui shook his head and said, “No wonder there are so many deformed people here. It turns out it’s all because of inbreeding.”

Xuan Chengzi knelt down, making retching noises. This was utterly horrifying!

Lin Nianci covered her ears with her hands, unwilling to listen any longer. It was too terrifying, absolutely too terrifying! She simply couldn’t believe such a thing could happen!

Fan Jialuo sent his voice directly into her mind, “Then came the day Duan Xiaoyun stumbled into this village. She found herself thoroughly pleased with those inhuman beasts, picking out one of the women to act as her agent and collect fertilizer. You’re aware, aren’t you? Her so-called fertilizer is nothing but human flesh and blood.”

“You’ve already experienced what happened next firsthand, so I don’t need to elaborate, right? Countless women were lured by them, and countless men were killed by them to sell their organs. They obtained millions of babies through that fertility fruit. The boys were sold for money, and the girls were eaten, sacrificed, or used to fill lakes.”

“They grew up drinking the water from the lake, so naturally they are full of bad karma. They weren’t trying to murder individuals, they wanted to eliminate women as an entire gender. But women will always exist, just as Yin and Yang coexisted when the world began. It is the natural law, an undeniable truth.”

Fan Jialuo straightened up, looked down at the trembling Lin Nianci, and asked, “Take a guess. On what exact day did they codify the drowning of every newborn girl into their clan laws?”

Lin Nianci removed the fingers that were plugging her ears and looked over in horror. She seemed to have realized something.

Fan Jialuo curled his lips in a sarcastic smile and nodded, saying, “Yes, you guessed right. It was the day you suddenly suffered a backlash and could no longer perform any miracles, it was the day you thought you had crossed the threshold of becoming a god, but then suddenly fell from the sky, it was the day you had to return to the Tianshui Sect and ask Shifu for help.”

Lin Nianci shook her head and said in a hoarse voice, “Why? Why is it being pinned on me? I didn’t do any of those things!”

“Don’t you understand yet? What these people did wasn’t just mindless killing.” Fan Jialuo said in a chilling tone, “They have defied human morality, defied their own race, defied Yin and Yang, and defied the natural law. How could they possibly endure the backlash of a bad karma that was born defying Heaven, race, and the natural law? They can’t. So naturally, the burden falls on you, the instigator. But as for you…… do you honestly think you can survive it?”

Lin Nianci looked down at her wrinkled, withered hands and already understood the answer.

Xuan Chengzi said coldly, “Bad karma of this magnitude is a burden that even true deities could not withstand, let alone a mere mortal like her.”

Looking back now, he truly regretted it. If any member of the Tianshui Sect had harbored any doubts about Song Enci’s words back then, a simple calculation would have revealed the truth. But no one doubted her, not a single one!

She said that her injuries were caused by Fan Jialuo, and everyone believed her, because Fan Jialuo was a villain who had killed his Shishu, so what was so strange about him injuring his ShiJie? Prejudice can really blind a person to the point of being unable to see the truth.

The iron bar slipped from Xuan Chengzi’s hand as he fell to his knees, utterly defeated. He was wrong. For all these years, he had lived a massive, absolute lie!

Lin Nianci frantically rubbed her wrinkled hands, instantly summoning all her luck to counter her plummeting life force, but nothing worked. The vortex of doom had fixed its gaze upon her, and it would never allow her to escape.

Fan Jialu walked step by step to Lin Nianci’s side and held his palm in front of her face.

Lin Nianci subconsciously activated her magnetic field to block, but then heard him say calmly, “Without merging the Yang Jade back together and refining it into a part of your own body, you’re nothing but a sad little bug I can squash on a whim. So get out of my sight.”

“What?” Lin Nianci was stunned. She had truly believed that the bitter blood-feud between her and Fan Jialuo would have to be settled today once and for all.

“I foresee that you still have three debts to repay.” Fan Jialuo withdrew his hand and gestured with his chin toward the village entrance, “Go, go repay the debts you owe others, and then I will settle the account between us.”

Lin Nianci scrambled to her feet and staggered away. Paying off debts and settling accounts were completely out of her mind. She only wanted to get as far away from Fan Jialuo as possible, to get as far away from this black lake as possible, and never see it again!

Although she had lived for over two hundred years, she had never suffered much hardship. In the sect, she was protected by her master and fellow disciples, after leaving, she was protected by Zhang Wencheng, after parting with Zhang Wencheng, she was protected by a group of believers, after suffering a backlash, she turned back into an infant and continued to be protected by her master and fellow disciples.

Her life was like a cycle, mirroring Fan Jialuo’s but in the exact opposite way. Fan Jialuo was someone who had waded through the fires of hell to cross over his cycle, whereas she had lived her entire life in a honey pot, pampered, protected, and idolized by everyone around her.

How could someone like her possibly fight back? The fact that she was able to ruthlessly kill Fan Jialuo back then was due to Zhang Wencheng’s constant manipulation and his meticulous planning. She couldn’t accomplish anything alone.

Seeing her retreating figure without turning her head, Xuan Chengzi’s last trace of master-disciple affection for her vanished.

He had personally cultivated this kind of child with his own two hands. He was guilty!

“Shifu, there is something else I need to tell you.” Fan Jialuo walked to Xuan Chengzi’s side, lowered his eyes and said, “When I used the jade pendant to revive Shishu, we both foresaw the future of the dragon vein being slaughtered. My spiritual power is slightly stronger than his, so I saw more of what he saw. One of the scenes is related to you. Would you like to know?”

Xuan Chengzi raised his head and stared at him in astonishment.

Fan Jialuo took his hands and led him to recall that memory.

After a moment, he slowly asked, “Shifu, tell me, is this future real or fake?”

Xuan Chengzi froze, his dark eyes fixed on a single point in the void, as if he had seen some kind of demon or monster. After a long while, he said in a trembling voice, “It’s true.” Then he bent over, pressed his head to the ground, and hugged it tightly with both hands.

This is an act of admitting guilt, but also an act of escaping.

And so, Fan Jialuo understood everything. With unshed tears glinting in his eyes, he gave him one last, deep look. Then, he turned on his heel and walked away. His cold words scattered into the wind, “Shifu…, this is the absolute last time I will ever use this title for you.”

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Chapter 287. Welcome To Purgatory (III)

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Those who cultivate the Tao always believe that everything in the world has a spirit. The heavens and earth have spirits, the souls of the dead have spirits, the years have spirits, the sun and moon have spirits, and even a stone has a spirit.

They may disregard the opinions of the world, but they cannot ignore the judgment of their ancestral spirits. For it was these spirits who nurtured them, left them their legacy, and paved the way for their spiritual cultivation. They are the successors on this path, receiving the tradition and legacy from their ancestors, adding their own achievements and weight, and then properly passing it on to the next generation.

Some people stumble and fall on this road, shattering into pieces, others keep running, forging ahead without hesitation, until they finally reach the pinnacle of success.

Before reuniting with Fan Jialuo, Xuan Chengzi always thought he would be the one to reach the pinnacle of the Tao, but now he realized that he had already fallen from the highest clouds into the abyss.

Even more tragically, he didn’t realize he had fallen, so he continued running in the abyss, drifting further and further away from the true path.

That majestic sect towering high above the clouds, he could never return to it again. Yet he had still blindly fantasized about rebuilding the Tianshui Sect’s lineage in the secular world, restoring every single Holy Maiden statue, ensuring Song Enci would continue to enjoy the offerings of mankind, and even recruiting more believers for her……

If the ancestors of the Tianshui Sect, who stand in the heavens, could hear his thoughts and learn of his will, they would probably be so angry that they would send down several bolts of lightning.

Having lived for hundreds of years, Xuan Chengzi suddenly looked back and realized that he had become a joke. He pounded on the statue, tears welling in his eyes, but a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

When the statue’s gorgeous outer shell shattered, all that spilled out from within was a heap of pitch-black mud clumps and gravel mixed with literal garbage. To maximize their profit margins, there was no telling where the merchant had sourced such filthy filling.

But Xuan Chengzi felt that Song Enci’s statue should be like this. Wasn’t she herself just like that?

Xuan Chengzi’s actions attracted the attention of the group next door. The middle-aged woman, seeing the shattered statue of the Holy Maiden on the ground, roared angrily, “Twist off his head and offer it as a sacrifice to the Holy Maiden!”

Several burly men immediately rushed forward with iron bars. But Xuan Chengzi, having recovered his cultivation, easily defeated them in the blink of an eye.

The group of Hunchbacks standing behind the woman also charged forward with howls. Although they were disabled and ugly, they were more powerful than several strong men.

Xuan Chengzi opened his Heavenly Eye and immediately frowned. These strange beings seemed to have grown up in purgatory, their bodies covered in thick, black mist of bad karma, spewing out  poisonous miasma that was probably more potent than that of a cobra. Fortunately, Xuan Chengzi was a cultivator and had a way to deal with these evil spirits. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably die from just one bite.

While Xuan Chengzi was dealing with these half-human, half-ghost creatures, Fan Jialuo and Song Rui had already walked to the wooden bed and looked down at Lin Nianci, who was still trapped in the illusion.

“Shifu, why do you think Lin Nianci hasn’t come out yet? It’s just the memories of a few thousand girls who were tortured to death. Is that really so hard to break out of?” Fan Jialuo said with a half-smile.

“Seeing as your Shifu was entirely helpless against that illusion and relied on you to wake him up, I imagine the difficulty level must be astronomical.” Song Rui threw in a parting shot.

Xuan Chengzi, who had been moving with ease, froze for a moment, then was bitten on the thigh, and was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Fan Jialuo bent down, gazing intently at Lin Nianci’s face, which was filled with pain and despair, and slowly said, “Is it really that difficult to just get rid of the illusion?”

“Do any of you have even the slightest clue what I endured inside that Tree of Reincarnation? Time after time, I was forced to relive the exact split-second I plunged dagger into Shishu’s heart. Termlessly, I endured the hour of my own demise at Song Enci’s hands. The inferno of ice and frost conjured by the twin forces of Yin and Yang qi, the crucible of magma forged by the Ninefold Blood Fiend Soul Devouring Formation, trapped me firmly and extended the time indefinitely.”

“But I eventually came out of it. Compared to what I went through, what is this illusion? Why can’t you break free?” Fan Jialuo asked earnestly.

“Yes, why?” Xuan Chengzi was stunned by the question.

Lin Nianci, who was struggling desperately in the illusion, tilted her head as if she could hear these words.

Fan Jialuo slowly gave his answer, “Because none of you possess any true faith. Doesn’t that sound absolutely ridiculous? As cultivators, you lack the slightest shred of faith. Yet that is the absolute truth. The path to godhood you so fiercely believe in isn’t a faith at all, it is merely the manifestation of your own desires.”

“Your Dao heart is not a Dao heart at all, but a demonic heart.”

Upon hearing this, Xuan Chengzi, still in a daze, nearly had his leg bone shattered by a burly man. He dodged awkwardly, his already broken Dao heart becoming even more irreparable. Knowing full well that being distracted in battle was dangerous, he couldn’t help but glance at Fan Jialuo, and then deeply realized just how outstanding this child he had always overlooked had become.

As the saying goes, the fruit never falls far from the tree. Shidi nurtured Fan Jialuo into this state, but I? I raised Song Enci into a demon twice. I was the ultimate failure all along! As this realization crashed down on him, Xuan Chengzi completely lost the will to fight on.

Song Rui lacked the courage to even ponder the sheer horror Fan Jialuo had endured within the Tree of Reincarnation. What manner of being could emerge lucid from such depths? Only those who have eternally dwelt in the abyss, beings who can withstand any suffering, outlast any torment, and even feast upon despair as their nourishment.

Song Rui lowered his head, hiding his reddened eyes.

Fan Jialuo took his hand and chuckled softly.

What he didn’t say was that although he repeatedly relived the scene of plunging the knife into Shishu’s heart, he also clearly saw the gentle smile in his Shishu’s eyes through this memory that he had never dared to look back on before. Not only did he not hate him, but he was also proud of his decisiveness and courage.

Immediately afterwards, Shishu’s eyes became Dr. Song’s eyes, long and deep, yet also encompassing longing.

At that moment, Fan Jialuo had an epiphany, and then grasped the jade pendant hidden in the tree trunk, returning from purgatory to the human world once again.

This is the source of his faith and strength.

Seeing that Xuan Chengzi was outnumbered and retreating steadily, Fan Jialuo had no choice but to whisper in Lin Nianci’s ear, who remained unconscious, and coax her, “Remember? You are the Holy Maiden of Zezhou, and their power comes from you. You can make them omnipotent, and you can also make them lose everything. Just take back that power, and you can escape.”

As if hearing these words, Lin Nianci, lying on the wooden bed, raised her head and let out a series of shrill screams.

Immediately afterward, the men who had been frantically attacking Xuan Chengzi all knelt down, covering their ears and groaning in pain. One by one, points of light emerged from their bodies and returned to Lin Nianci’s body. These points of light contained small jade pendants, which were originally pure white but had now turned into a dark gray that was almost black.

The jade pendant that emerged from the middle-aged woman’s body was the largest and darkest in color. As it passed before Fan Jialuo’s eyes, it exuded pure malice.

“Aren’t you going to absorb them?” Song Rui asked in a low voice.

“No, my goal has never been to collect them, but to destroy them.” Fan Jialuo shook his head.

Having retrieved the jade pendants, Lin Nianci finally broke free from the hellish illusion. She ripped off the chains, touched her stomach, and found it perfectly flat, letting out a long sigh of relief. Completely exhausted, her face a mixture of fear and horror, yet she couldn’t help but chuckle softly. She was relieved that it had all been an illusion.

However, she had no idea that those things actually happened, only that the victims were already dead.

In the past, Xuan Chengzi would have rushed over immediately to check if his beloved disciple was alright, but now, he merely glanced at her coldly before walking out of the dimly lit room carrying an iron rod.

Fan Jialuo and Song Rui followed in his footsteps.

Lin Nianci dared not be alone, so she quickly jumped off the wooden bed and staggered after them. She wasn’t surprised that Fan Jialuo and Song Rui were here. She knew from the moment she was trapped in the illusion that this was another of Fan Jialuo’s tricks. He always enjoyed putting her in all sorts of unbearable situations.

The village’s adult men were assembled in full at the sacred altar, gasping for their final breaths after Song Enci absorbed the essence of their jade pieces. Strangely, far across the dark settlement, the windows of their homes still glowed with light.

Xuan Chengzi kicked open the doors of each house, followed the scent of burning incense and candles to the altar, and smashed the statues of the Holy Maiden to pieces.

He walked through the area, only to find to his utter horror that every family here was rearing at least one or more boys aged five to ten. Barely a handful had a normal appearance. The absolute majority were deformed, physically handicapped monstrosities. As for daughters? There wasn’t a single one.

No, perhaps there were, because in the pigsty of one of the families, Xuan Chengzi discovered the skeletons of many female infants. It turned out that they not only used female infants as food or sacrifices, but also as pig feed.

This scene caused Xuan Chengzi’s eyes to turn crimson again.

His main purpose in coming to Beijing this time was to rebuild Tianshui Temples, restore the statue of the Holy Maiden, and restore the incense offerings to Song Enci. But now, he wished he could set fire to everything, burning down Song Enci’s followers, offerings, and even the statues.

Lin Nianci stood pressed against the wall, staring in terror at her crazed master. She touched her face, which was suddenly covered in wrinkles, and let out a pitiful scream. The power she had just gained was rapidly draining away, her smooth skin was aging once more, and the color of the Dragon’s Curse seemed to have deepened.

A torrent of karmic backlash, infinitely more savage than anything she had faced before her rebirth, was tearing into her at this very moment. But why was this happening?

Fan Jialuo took out a walkie-talkie and said, “Chief Yan, Director Meng, you can now enter Xianghuo Village. The danger is not completely over, but it is under control. You must take proper protective measures.”

As he reported the situation, the children with shark-like teeth surrounded Xuan Chengzi, gnawing at his thigh. Their eyes, which should have been filled with childlike innocence, were instead filled with ferocious murderous intent. Growing up in such an environment, they had long since come to believe that everyone and everything, except their parents and the villagers, was their food.

Xuan Chengzi kicked them away without any mercy and continued to smash the statues of the Holy Maiden.

At the same time, Meng Zhong was organizing his troops to prepare for an attack.

“Are you all wearing protective suits? The people in this village are very difficult to deal with. When I was still in the Special Security Department, I launched two raids, but both ended in failure. The people inside are monsters. They are very strong and are not afraid of bullets. No matter how you shoot them, they are impossible to kill. What’s even more terrifying is that their teeth and nails are poisonous. If you are scratched or bitten, the mortality rate is 100%.”

The soldiers and police officers, who were getting ready, couldn’t help but show expressions of being on high alert.

“But Teacher Fan has already scouted ahead for us, so there shouldn’t be any problems this time. Come on, let’s check our watches.” Meng Zhong raised his wrist.

The group checked their watches, then charged in with their guns, expecting a fierce and arduous battle, only to find a bunch of little kids lying on the ground and a group of strange people on the verge of death.

A police officer bent down to help the little boy at his feet, but heard Teacher Fan’s stern voice coming from the walkie-talkie, “Stay away from those children, their teeth are poisonous.”

The police officer was startled and quickly withdrew his hand.

The child, who had been lying on the ground seemingly unconscious, suddenly got up and lunged at him, only to be kicked away by Meng Zhong, who arrived just in time.

The child tumbled a great distance before finally stabilizing his footing. When he lifted his head, he revealed a pair of completely emotionless, blood-red eyes. His thick, unclosable lips hung open, exposing two rows of razor-sharp teeth dripping with saliva. This was absolutely not a normal five-year-old child, he resembled a carnivorous beast instead.

Seeing this, everyone broke out in a cold sweat, still shaken by the experience.

Meng Zhong shouted sternly, “Didn’t you hear what I said before? No one in this village deserves any sympathy! Smash them on the head with the butts of your rifles, knock them unconscious, and tie them up with ropes, whether they’re adults or children!”

The crowd chorused their agreement, then proceeded to knock out anyone who was still conscious, one by one——

While the police and special forces were busy, Fan Jialuo took the nearly numb Xuan Chengzi and the constantly backlashing Lin Nianci to the innermost part of this small mountain village.

“This entire lake is severely contaminated.” Song Rui said, pointing to a small lake hidden in the valley.

Xuan Chengzi and Lin Nianci frowned and looked ahead, only to see a lake lying there. The black water in the lake was thick and viscous like mud, emitting a pungent stench.

Fan Jialuo walked to the lakeside and gazed into the distance. Without turning his head, he asked, “Lin Nianci, have you been affected by the backlash again?”

Lin Nianci stroked her wrinkled face, her expression panicked.

Xuan Chengzi glanced at her, but remained unmoved by her miserable state.

“If you knew what this place was, you would understand why, even after transforming into a second body, you still cannot escape the backlash of bad karma.” Fan Jialuo said with a half-smile.

Lin Nianci turned her head and looked around, asking in a trembling voice, “What is this place?”

“Don’t you remember?” Fan Jialuo pointed to the small valley and said slowly, “After leaving Young Master Zhang, you planned to become a god walking among humans. Gods must perform miracles, so you chose a small village infected with the plague to begin your path to godhood.”

Lin Nianci’s lips trembled uncontrollably.

Fan Jialuo raised an eyebrow and said, “How is it, do you remember now? Yes, this is the place where you first performed a miracle. You walked into this village that no one dared to approach, and touched the heads of the dying people one by one, giving them new life. They knelt at your feet to thank you for your great kindness, called you Holy Maiden, cast a golden statue in your image and offered incense. They were your first group of believers, and also your most devout group of believers.”

“Therefore, you can sever all ties with Song Enci, but you can’t sever this initial thread of cause and effect. Once you touch this thread again, all the sins will fall back on your head.”

Lin Nianci was stunned. After examining the surrounding terrain again, she finally managed to dig out some familiar shadows from her jumbled memories. Realizing this, she began to age rapidly, her once black hair turning completely white in an instant.

The devastation Fan Jialuo brought upon her was never meant to be quick. It was a slow execution, one hammer blow at a time, one knife cut at a time, leaving her trapped in a living hell.

But he was far from finished. Fan Jialuo gestured toward the black lake at their feet and asked, “Do you know why this water is stained black?”Do you know what made those villagers grow into such grotesque shapes? Do you know why there is only one female in this village, yet the rest are all men?”

“No, stop…… I don’t want to hear it!” Lin Nianci spun around to flee, but her legs were violently broken by a sudden swing of Xuan Chengzi’s iron bar, sending her kneeling straight to the ground.

“Listen carefully to the sins you committed back then!” Xuan Chengzi said in an icy tone.

Fan Jialuo scooped up a handful of the foul, stench-ridden black water and sighed, “I told you before, the World-Destroying Tree was not your greatest sin. It was far from enough to trip you up at the very threshold of godhood. Everything carried within this lake is the true, indelible bad karma that you can never wash clean, nor ever hope to settle.”

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Chapter 286. Welcome To Purgatory (II)

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TN:- !!!WARNING!!! This chapter contains sensitive, disturbing or inappropriate content. Reader’s discretion is advised.

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What is purgatory?

An agony that will never, ever end——that is called purgatory. An endless darkness where not a single glint of hope can be seen——that is called purgatory. A desperate struggle where one longs for death but cannot die——that is called purgatory.

At this very moment, Lin Nianci was trapped in this purgatory. Her body was enduring a level of devastation unimaginable to an ordinary person, over and over again, without end. More horrifyingly, her belly began to balloon out like a regular balloon, while those grotesque creatures swarmed around her, admiring her agonizing state with eyes full of sick excitement.

Her fury, her shrieks of pain, and her bitter curses fell upon their ears like a beautiful melody, plunging them into an even greater state of ecstatic bliss.

Lin Nianci, exhausted from shouting, began to cry, first sobbing softly, then wailing loudly. She felt something rapidly bulging her stomach, it hurt, it felt bloated, as if it were about to burst. She was covered in cold sweat, her face streaked with tears and snot, as if she had fallen into a swamp and was covered in filth.

The word ‘holy’ seems to have been forever removed from her. She was filthy, foul, base, and despicable. She was a plaything for these people.

With every breath, she begged for her master, straining her neck to look his way. Her eyes were completely filled with a silent plea to be killed, to just let it end

Xuan Chengzi had personally watched every single second of her brutal violation. His fury, grief, and hopelessness surpassed even hers. But what good was this storm of dark emotions? It only weaponized the pain against himself. His wrists and ankles were securely shackled in iron chains, locking him completely in place. Because of his frantic struggles, the metal had sliced into his flesh, leaving him a bloody, mangled mess.

Those people deliberately poured chili oil and strong liquor on him, then clapped and laughed while listening to his screams with relish.

Gradually, Xuan Chengzi realized that these people’s emotional experiences were the opposite of normal people’s. They took the greatest pleasure from the suffering of others, the more agonizingly you screamed, the more they found enjoyment in it. This was not a group of people at all, but a group of demons in human skin.

The sheer evil of human nature was on full display at this very moment, laid bare in all its hideous glory.

Xuan Chengzi finally gave up struggling.

Lin Nianci didn’t even have the energy left to thrash. In a span of just a few short hours, her stomach had stretched to the point of imminent childbirth, yet those living demons showed no signs of stopping their brutal torment.

Her voice completely shattered from hours of screaming, Lin Nianci was entirely silent when the contractions hit. She could do nothing but part her lips, coughing up thick, crimson blood from the back of her throat.

Fortunately, the woman was very experienced. She yanked back the person who was still fooling around and coolly laid out instructions without missing a beat, “Go get a basin and scissors.”

The group split up to retrieve the items.

Soon, Lin Nianci’s second purgatory began. She was giving birth, blood hissing and gushing out uncontrollably, but the baby was stuck and wouldn’t come out.

The woman yelled, “Press on her stomach!”

Then two burly men forcefully pushed Lin Nianci’s stomach, from top to bottom, again and again, causing her to faint from the pain time and time again, only to wake up again each time. In that short hour or so, she felt as if she had experienced death a thousand times over.

What kind of pain is slow slicing? Lin Nianci couldn’t have imagined it before, but now she knows. And she was certain that the pain she was suffering was a more cruel punishment than slow slicing, because in addition to the physical pain, she was also enduring mental humiliation and spiritual torment.

These people didn’t treat her like a human being at all.

The child was born, and Lin Nianci listened to his wailing almost numbly, her tears long since dried up.

Xuan Chengzi had managed to keep his eyes on her in the beginning, trying to spur her on, but in the end, he shut his eyes tightly. The phrase ‘too tragic to behold’ was likely created to describe the exact scene playing out before him.

The middle-aged woman cut the umbilical cord, examined the child carefully, and said, “Not bad, it’s a boy. We can raise him for a few days and then sell him.”

Raise it for a few days, then sell it. These short, simple words laid bare the countless atrocities and blood debts committed by these people. Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears, Xuan Chengzi would never have imagined that the subject of their casual discussion was a newborn infant.

One of the grotesque creature held the child upside down by its ankles, limping away from the room that reeked of stench and blood. They called this place the Sacred Altar.

The woman put down the scissors, took off her blood-stained apron, and knelt before the statue of the Holy Maiden in silent prayer. Behind her, the men who had spent the entire night in a manic frenzy fell to their knees as well, prostrating themselves before the statue.

“Holy Maiden, thank you for your grace.” The woman kowtowed three times.

Lin Nianci raised her head, wanting to shout ‘you are not worthy to be my believers’, but no sound came out after she opened her mouth.

She finally collapsed, barely alive, but the nightmare had only just begun.

Having finished tormenting her, those people turned their cruelty upon Xuan Chengzi.

They dislocated his jaw as well, forcing a blue fruit down his throat.

Seeing this, Lin Nianci was terrified.

Gagging and crying out helplessly through his broken jaw, Xuan Chengzi glared ahead, his eyes completely bloodshot with rage.

But that fruit wasn’t a fertility fruit, it was a fruit with far more bizarre effects, capable of endlessly regenerating a person’s internal organs. So, without anesthesia, those people cut open Xuan Chengzi’s abdomen and removed all his organs except for his heart.

Of course, they picked them one by one, since no matter how magical that fruit was, it wasn’t an immortal fruit that could make someone impossible to kill.

Xuan Chengzi’s two ribs were broken and spread apart, revealing a bright red, beating heart. The woman’s hands churned inside his stomach, occasionally pulling out an organ and then pricing it, “This kidney can sell for 300,000 yuan, this lung can sell for 150,000 yuan, this pancreas……”

Xuan Chengzi’s vision was already blurring from the sheer agony. In his hazy consciousness, a thought surfaced—— the suffering I once endured in the past is truly not even worth mentioning compared to this.

Lin Nianci was completely devastated, but she couldn’t even cry.

If you were to ask her what hell looked like, she would tell you—— it is right here, it is right now, and it is these very demons cloaked in human skin!

How could they possibly be her followers? Why would her followers do such a thing and claim it’s all her blessing?

With these questions in mind, Lin Nianci completely fainted. The next day, the women gave her and Xuan Chengzi a blue fruit each and continued the previous ritual. They treated Lin Nianci as a breeding machine and Xuan Chengzi as a vessel for cultivating internal organs, exchanging their flesh and blood for a continuous stream of money.

Lin Nianci had lost count of how many fruits she had eaten and how many children she had given birth to. Among these children were both boys and girls. The boys were carted off by the women to be sold into trafficking, but the girls were ground straight into a bloody mush, served up for those hunchbacked demons to split and drink down like water.

When she bore a female infant for the first time, Lin Nianci was forced to watch this horror play out, vomiting until she was completely delirious. After a few more births, she had more girls, but this time they weren’t instantly crushed into mush. Rather, they were stacked together inside a tub, meticulously raised on milk.

Lin Nianci thought the children might survive, but one day, the middle-aged woman placed the baby girls in front of the statue of the Holy Maiden, cut their throats one by one with a knife, and let their blood flow out, calling it a sacrifice to the Holy Maiden.

Upon being presented with this horrific sacrifice, Lin Nianci snapped right then and there, sobbing until she utterly collapsed. She was cursed with eternal life, meaning this nightmare would never, ever come to an end.

Xuan Chengzi turned to look at her, his expression numb, but suddenly a whispered voice reached his ears, “Shifu, look closely, is this purgatory or the human world?”

That familiar voice was like a sharp knife, slicing through the darkness before his eyes and bringing Xuan Chengzi back to reality. As his vacant eyes gradually focused, he realized that he was indeed locked to a wooden bed, but his chest had not been cut open. There wasn’t a single scratch on his limbs, and he was still wearing the same clothes he had been wearing before.

In other words, the purgatory he just experienced was very likely an illusion.

He quickly turned to look at the bed next to him, only to find that Lin Nianci was still trapped in that illusion, crying her heart out with her eyes closed.

“Shifu, you’re awake.” That familiar voice came again.

Xuan Chengzi turned his head sharply and saw Fan Jialuo and Song Rui standing at the door, looking at him with inscrutable expressions. Both of them were wearing military uniforms and had walkie-talkies clipped to their waists, as if they were on some kind of mission.

A set of footsteps approached, and Fan Jialuo and Song Rui immediately stepped aside. Then, the door swung open. The burly man who had collected the toll poked his head inside, scanning the room, and shouted toward the next room, “It’s fine, that woman is just having a nightmare.” Even though Fan Jialuo and Song Rui were standing right under his nose, he couldn’t see them.

Someone from the other side gave a brief reply, calling the burly man away. Immediately after, an anxious conversation drifted over faintly, “The fertility fruits and flesh fruits are almost used up, and we can’t get in touch with Granny Tree. What are we going to do now?”

“Should I just go to her house and look for her?”

“Any living person who goes into that forest will never come out, only Granny Tree can go in.”

“Then what do we do? We can’t just stop doing business.”

“How many fruits are left?”

“There are still fifteen fertility fruits and twenty flesh fruits left.”

“Then let’s use these two first. The man is very strong, so his organs must be healthy. The woman is beautiful, and her child will fetch a good price. Let’s make a profit first.”

“I feel we should bide our time a bit longer. Losing touch with Granny Tree leaves me completely unsettled. Leave those two be for the moment. You can play with them if you want, but make sure you don’t break them.”

A few cheers were interspersed within the dialogue, making it chillingly clear what the so-called ‘play’ truly entailed.

Blood vessels webbed across Xuan Chengzi’s eyes once more, a clear sign that he was recalling those unbearable memories from the illusion.

“The illusion just now, it was you……” He looked at Fan Jialuo, his face full of anger.

Fan Jialuo tore off the red cloth from the altar, revealing Song Enci’s statue, and said without turning his head, “That wasn’t an illusion, it actually happened. It’s a memory preserved in this house. It’s the real experience of millions of people who fell into this place. What you’ve experienced is far less than one ten-thousandth of what they went through.”

As if in response to this statement, a chilling whirlwind inexplicably swept through the windowless house. It had witnessed countless hellish tragedies, far beyond what humans could imagine.

Xuan Chengzi stiffened. He had believed everything to be a mere illusion, but now, a sudden wave of absolute freezing cold violently extinguished the rage burning in his eyes.

“I’m surprised you couldn’t break free from the illusion on your own and had to be reminded by me.” Fan Jialuo looked up at the compassionate and holy statue and said slowly, “Do you think Shishu would be in such a sorry state if he encountered the same thing?”

No, impossible. Xuan Yangzi possesses a heart of iron. How could he possibly be manipulated by a paltry illusion like that?

“Guess what Shishu would do if he encountered his inner demons?” Fan Jialuo asked without turning his head.

“He…….”

Xuan Chengzi knew the answer, but couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“He will not hesitate to slay his inner demons. If he cannot, he will kill himself. He will never willingly fall into purgatory like you did.” Fan Jialuo said, enunciating each word clearly.

A visible tremor began to ripple across Xuan Chengzi’s face.

“Guess how Shishu would treat me if I did what Song Enci did?”

The trembling on Xuan Chengzi’s face ceased, only for his expression to turn utterly frozen.

“He would kill me without hesitation, and then judge himself. Because my sins are his sins, and he would personally obliterate all wrongs.”

“Guess who our Shizu chose as the sect leader between you and Shishu?”

Xuan Chengzi’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Even without turning around, Fan Jialu could guess his inner thoughts, so he nodded and said, “That’s right, the Shizu chose Shishu, but Shishu gave up voluntarily. He concealed the fact that he was a psychic, so he felt that he had shirked his responsibilities and was not worthy of being the sect leader. In his mind, you are the rightful leader of the Tianshui Sect because your sense of responsibility is paramount.”

Xuan Chengzi clutched his chest, involuntarily letting out a painful groan.

“Just imagine what he would think if he could see your behavior now. Tell me, do you still remember the words etched into the stone stele outside the entrance of the Tianshui Sect?”

Xuan Chengzi closed his eyes, unable to bear the memory.

“Let me remind you of what is carved there—— Save all living souls, protect the common people, keep order in Taoist sects, aid the nation’s destiny, promote the righteousness of heaven and earth, and uphold the Great Tao. You have cultivated the Tao for hundreds of years. Now, do you dare to look back and see what kind of Tao you have cultivated? Of every single commandment carved upon that stone, have you ever truly upheld a single one?”

These sharp accusations left Xuan Chengzi shaking to his core. He lacked the courage to look back at his past actions. If he dared to piece them all together, they would spell out only two words——pure wretchedness.

Fan Jialuo gave him no chance to escape, turning back to say, “Let me tell you exactly what you cultivate. It is the Demonic Path! You have betrayed every single shred of the will left behind by the Tianshui Sect’s ancestors!”

Xuan Chengzi suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of bewitched crimson pupils.

“All these years, when you sat in meditation before the ancestral tablets, did you ever stop to think about how they were looking down on you from the heavens? With relief? With pride? Or with utter disgust, rage, and shame?! When you die, will you even dare to face their heroic spirits? You barred Shishu from entering the Hall of Heroes, but are you yourself even fit to step foot inside?!

“You always claim that I show you no respect as my Shizun. But with a Shizun like you, how am I supposed to show any respect?!”

“Tianshui Sect’s spiritual heritage ends in your hands…… is truly nothing less than deserved.” Fan Jialuo pointed to the sky and suddenly asked, “Did you hear that?”

Routed and broken by the barrage of accusations, Xuan Chengzi could only look past the tip of the youth’s finger, completely stripped of his own volition.

Fan Jialuo slowly said, “That is the lament of Shishu, the angry rebuke of Shizu, the curses of countless heroic spirits of the Tianshui Sect, the wailing of all the heroes who sacrificed themselves in the battle to protect the dragon, and the cries of the thousands of innocent souls who died under the invading devil’s blade! That is not Song Enci’s fault, it is yours.”

Xuan Chengzi’s Dao heart shattered amidst the cries, scorn, curses, lamentations, and shouts, and his crimson eyes gradually turned into a dim and grayish color.

At that exact moment, his cultivation finally recovered, so he fiercely tore off those iron chains, walked to the altar, and smashed Song Enci’s Holy Maiden statue to pieces.

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TN:- Shizun is a highly formal, reverent term for one’s teacher.

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Chapter 285. Welcome To Purgatory (I)

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TN:- Sorry for not updating yesterday. It was hard to concentrate with headache, everything was blurred during finalizing. !! 2 Chapters !!

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While Xuan Chengzi was still caught in a dilemma, Lin Nianci slowly woke up.

“Shifu, where is this? Where is Fan Jialuo?” She looked at the scenery outside the window and touched the Dragon Curse on the back of her hand.

Xuan Chengzi stared at her coldly, offering no reply. He simply didn’t know how to face this person. If it were a matter of punishment, he should kill her, but tragically, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I’ve lost my cultivation, what about you?” He asked in a low voice.

They were now sitting in an old village bus, surrounded by other passengers, making it difficult to talk.

Lin Nianci subconsciously circulated her dantian, then shook her head, her face pale, “I have no spiritual power left either.” She looked at her arm covered with black markings and said in a trembling voice, “Is it because of the dragon’s curse?”

Xuan Chengzi was also confused, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a tearing pain in his heart when he saw those hideous black patterns. He desperately wished that Fan Jialuo’s trial was just a nightmare, but reality told him that it had all really happened.

The child he brought up with his own hands ended up becoming a villain guilty of countless sins, yet the detested vile disciple he always hated protected this land with all his heart.

Xuan Chengzi closed his eyes and finally made up his mind, “Once the bus enters the town, I will take you to turn yourself in.” He couldn’t bear to hurt her, but the country’s laws would eventually punish her.

“Shifu, which way is this bus going?” Lin Nianci effortlessly deflected the topic. It was her preferred method of interaction——evasion

Xuan Chengzi frowned, revealing a stern expression, while Lin Nianci clutched her chest and groaned weakly, “Shifu, it hurts so much.”

Xuan Chengzi’s ears stirred slightly, showing a flicker of emotion, but his eyes closed in utter helplessness

This child knew all too well how to manipulate his emotions, because she knew she was her Shifu’s only weakness. But this weakness was now rotting within him, and one day it would drag him down to hell……

How could he cut out this weakness? Xuan Chengzi fell into the most difficult and painful dilemma of his life

Lin Nianci nudged the shoulder of the passenger in front and asked softly, “Where is this bus going?”

The man was initially very unhappy, but when he turned around and saw such an extremely beautiful face, his tone immediately softened several degrees, “This bus is heading to Xiaotang Town, didn’t you know, miss? Wait, did you get on the wrong bus?”

“No, we just hopped on a random bus and decided to go.” Lin Nianci waved her hand with a smile, but she was already thinking things through.

Nothing in this world could destroy a body forged from the spiritual essence of heaven and earth alongside dragon veins fortune. Fan Jialuo surely let me go only because he was utterly powerless against me. But would he really just watch me walk away? This bus was bound for Xiaotang Town. What’s so special about Xiaotang Town?

Did Fan Jialuo set up some kind of trap there?

Even if it’s a trap, so what? This body can’t be blown up, burned, or stabbed to death. Even if its head is cut off, it can grow back completely intact. What can it do to me? Although she thought this, Lin Nianci hugged her arms tightly, feeling a chill run through her body.

In fact, death is not the most painful thing, living a life worse than death is. And Fan Jialuo was precisely the most skilled at using methods that make a life worse than death to torment a person.

Lin Nianci, who knew this all too well, was afraid. In fact, more than two hundred years ago, when Fan Jialuo first stepped into the gates of the Tianshui Sect and stood before her as a Holy Child, she was already afraid.

A mystical resonance naturally exists between psychics. The more powerful side always radiates a certain pressure, and at just five years old, Fan Jialuo had not yet learned to restrain.

Little did he know that as his small figure entered the Hall of the Three Pure Ones and looked up, Song Enci looked down only to feel that she were facing not a young child, but a towering, majestic mountain

One day, this mountain will crush me to death——Song Nianci had this thought for no apparent reason at the time, and thus a wisp of inner demon was left behind.

Memories of Fan Jialuo were always dark and terrifying. Lin Nianci clutched her chest, unable to bear thinking about it anymore.

Just then, the bus slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. Then, the driver’s curses rang out from the front, “Goddammit, Xianghuo Village is stirring up shit again!”

“What’s going on? Are they charging tolls?” Several passengers stood up and looked around.

“Yes, hurry up and take out your money, don’t argue with them.” The driver started rummaging through his wallet.

The other passengers also took out their change.

Before Xuan Chengzi and Lin Nianci could figure out what was going on, a burly man forcibly pried open the bus door with an iron bar, climbed in, and said, “Ten yuan each, hurry, pay up!”

“Why is it ten yuan now? Wasn’t it five yuan last time?” Someone protested.

“Pay up or get out and walk. What are you running your mouth for?” The burly man slammed the iron bar hard against the back of the seat next to the passenger’s head.

The man immediately handed over ten yuan, and the others didn’t dare say anything more. After the passengers paid up, the driver did a quick headcount and handed over an extra sum himself. They called it an ‘operating tax,’ but honestly, how was this any different from highway robbery?

Everyone was angry but dared not speak out, except for Xuan Chengzi, who said coldly, “I have no money.”

Lin Nianci hugged her master’s arm tightly and leaned against him, looking timid.

Upon seeing her face, the burly man’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t show it on his face. He just grinned and said, “If you don’t have money, get off the bus and walk. You dare to act tough in front of LaoZi? Who do you think you are?” As he spoke, he reached out to grab her.

Although Xuan Chengzi had lost his cultivation, he was a true martial artist with much greater strength than ordinary people. He could handle not just one strong man, but even twenty more with one hand.

But a strange thing happened. When he tried to twist the strong man’s arm, the man easily subdued him, then grabbed his neck, shoved his head out of the bus window, and kicked him in the back.

Seeing her master fall headfirst out of the bus window, Lin Nianci couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

The burly man was surprisingly gentle with her. He grabbed her arm, pulled her down the aisle, and waved for the driver to continue.

The driver sped away, but the other passengers kept turning back to look, sighing, “What a pity for such a beautiful girl.”

“Once you fall into the clutches of those Xianghuo Village people, your whole life is destroyed forever.”

“They say the government is running an anti-organized crime campaign. When will they shut down Xianghuo Village for good?”

“It’s impossible to shut them down. Even a joint force of regular and military police couldn’t breach the Xianghuo village. The people there are freaky as hell, they have monstrous strength and are completely invulnerable. No matter how you shoot them, they just won’t die.”

“Is that really true?”

“I’m just repeating what I heard. Either way, I’m way too terrified to ever step foot in Xianghuo Village.”

“Me too. All the outsiders who went to Xianghuo Village have disappeared, but the police can’t even get into the village.”

The driver pointed to an asphalt road on the opposite mountain and chuckled, “Once that new road is finished, I’ll never drive on this road again.”

“Damn right, destroying this route is tantamount to destroying Xianghuo Village, let them all rot and die.”

The hatred these passengers harbored for Xianghuo Village was beyond reason, unfortunately, Lin Nianci and Xuan Chengzi, who had been left far behind, could no longer hear it.

Xuan Chengzi fell flat on his face after being thrown out of the bus window. It didn’t hurt much, but his pride was wounded, and he was quite astonished. He finally realized that this burly man’s strength far exceeded that of a normal person, it was as strong as an ox. No wonder he was involved in highway robbery, he had something to rely on.

Faced with these thoughts, Xuan Chengzi was compelled to rein in his deep-seated hubris and vanity, meeting this commoner with an attitude of utmost vigilance.

He quickly got up, pulled Lin Nianci behind him, and stared intently at the burly man’s vital points, thinking of ways to overcome his strength with skill.

But the burly man merely glanced at them with a half-smile before turning and leaving, taking large strides until he disappeared from sight in no time.

Lin Nianci hugged her master’s arm tightly and asked softly, “What do we do now?”

Seeing that the sun had already set and it would soon be dark, Xuan Chengzi pointed in the direction the bus had left and said, “Let’s walk a bit and see what happens.” Now is not the time to bring up past grievances, let’s find a safe place to stay first.

Having become a completely ordinary person, Xuan Chengzi’s mood became increasingly anxious.

Nodding deferentially, Lin Nianci doggedly shadowed her master, occasionally supporting his arm and murmuring warnings to watch his step. From her outward behavior alone, anyone would find it impossible to believe she was guilty of so many monstrous sins. How could she live with herself without feeling even a hint of remorse?

Xuan Chengzi glanced at her, his feelings extremely complicated.

Night descended rapidly, dropping the mountain temperatures below freezing. Bereft of warm clothes, the pair began to suffer an intolerable cold. They had known this icy bite once before, back when they were young and weak, but had gradually forgotten it as their cultivation progressed.

They once thought they had evolved into higher beings separate from common humans. Yet, when the dust settled, they realized that their supposed uniqueness was nothing but a grand delusion.

“Shifu, I’m so cold, so tired, and so hungry.” Having lived for over two hundred years, this was the first time Lin Nianci had experienced hunger, cold, and exhaustion.

“There are lights ahead.” Xuan Chengzi said excitedly.

The two quickened their pace toward the lights, only to find a village hidden in a mountain valley ahead, with only a few dozen scattered households, each filled with the aroma of food.

Xuan Chengzi walked towards the house closest to the road, knocked on the door, and explained his purpose.

“Come in, it’s cold outside.” The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman in her thirties.

“Thank you. May I borrow your phone to make a call? Where am I? I’ll have my friend pick me up.” Xuan Chengzi tried to speak in a gentle tone, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

“Go ahead and make the call. This is Xianghuo Village.” The woman handed over a dirty and tattered cell phone.

“Which province and city?” Xuan Chengzi continued to ask.

The woman gave him a strange look.

Xuan Chengzi asked again, and the woman reluctantly gave him the specific address. It turned out that this place was far from the capital, in a remote mountainous area in a neighboring province.

With no cell phone signal, Xuan Chengzi tried making a call from several different locations but was unable to do so.

The woman offered kindly, “You might as well stay over tonight and call in the morning. Reception is awful around here, it’s completely hit-or-miss, so you have to get lucky. Have you guys had dinner? If you haven’t, come join us for a meal.”

The woman led the two into the living room and pointed to the half-eaten dinner.

Lin Nianci gasped in surprise when she saw two extremely ugly men sitting in the room. One was quite old, presumably the woman’s husband, and the other looked young, presumably her son.

Both of their eyeballs bulged violently out of their sockets, webbed with bloodshot veins like high-pressure spheres on the verge of exploding. Their lips were thick and could not close, exposing two rows of sharp, needle-like shark teeth. The shapes of their heads were completely irregular, dented here protruding there, looking even more distorted than a figure in an abstract painting.

Both of them were curled up on the low stools, with high humps on their backs and swollen and deformed finger joints. They were awkwardly using chopsticks to scoop rice, drooling as they did so.

Upon seeing the guests arrive, they chuckled twice, and their bloodshot eyes suddenly trembled as if they were about to explode.

Such utter hideousness was completely intolerable to Lin Nianci. Even Xuan Chengzi, a man who had seen his fair share of ghouls and ghosts, found himself deeply unsettled.

The woman warmly invited them to eat at the same table, but they had no appetite and said they were too tired and wanted to rest.

The woman then led them to a clean room, brought out two quilts and two bottles of mineral water, and told them to make do for the night.

Having determined that the family only had two bedrooms, Xuan Chengzi had no choice but to give the bed to Lin Nianci and sleep on the floor himself.

Both of them were very hungry, so they drank all the mineral water. Before they could even lie down, their eyelids started to droop, and they both fainted.

When they finally came to senses, they found themselves tied to separate wooden beds barely four or five meters apart, close enough to see each other with a mere turn of their heads. Looming around them was a dense circle of dark silhouettes, every single one of them a Quasimodo-like creature with bulging eyeballs, razor-sharp teeth, warped skulls, and severely hunched backs.

The middle-aged woman standing out among the few normal men was particularly noticeable.

The woman turned on the light above their heads and said coldly, “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll go first!” The burly man who had collected the toll earlier raised his hand.

“Hey, it’s my turn now!” Another normal man cut in defensively.

“I, I, I……. want a turn.” The middle-aged woman’s son was already drooling all over his neck.

“I want to too.” His father gave him a hard shove.

So everyone raised their hands, clamoring that they wanted to be the first one there.

Lin Nianci looked closer, only to find that every single one of these misshapen creatures was male. They all seemed severely mentally impaired, and each bore some form of physical handicap. They were either crippled, missing an ear, unable to uncurl their fingers, or half-blind.

They resembled a pack of shattered puppets that had been haphazardly glued back together, moving with an eerie, uncanny stiffness. In stark contrast, the few normal men were exceptionally towering and heavily built. Even their faces were layered with knotted, sinewy muscles, standing among the crowd like solid towers of iron.

The only woman scolded, “Stop arguing, you all draw lots first, I’ll pray to the Holy Maiden.”

She carried a dirty box onto the table, had the dozens of men line up to draw lots, and then lifted the red cloth on the altar and knelt down in devout worship.

Lin Nianci, who was struggling violently, was stunned, while Xuan Chengzi looked up and stared in astonishment at what lay ahead.

The woman was not kneeling before any named bodhisattva or deity, but rather the Holy Maiden of Zezhou, the former incarnation of Lin Nianci. Her beautiful face, flowing gauze dress, and the willow branch held delicately between the fingertips were all things Song Enci had sketched stroke by stroke with her own hands before commissioning expert craftsmen to bring them to life.

She hoped her statue would be more sacred than any bodhisattva, and she succeeded.

Right now, the woman was kneeling before her sacred statue, bowing devoutly, and the men also knelt down, shouting,  ‘Holy Maiden!’, and then eagerly drawing lots.

Xuan Chengzi was stunned when he discovered that these people were actually Song Enci’s followers.

Then, something even more unsettling happened. After the woman finished worshipping the statue, she took a black jar from the foot of the statue, took out a blue fruit that looked all too familiar, and fed it to Lin Nianci.

Lin Nian clutched her teeth together, refusing to open her mouth. One of the burly men stepped up and directly dislocated her jaw, allowing the woman to shove it inside.

Without a doubt, this is indeed the fruit of the demonic Bodhi Tree, because it melts in the mouth, leaving no room for refusal to swallow.

Lin Nianci seemed to realize something and began to struggle frantically.

Meanwhile, Xuan Chengzi thought to himself, his face deathly pale——Is this fruit a Fertility Fruit, a Longevity Fruit, a Potential Fruit, a Youth Fruit, or something else entirely?

Looking at this group of extremely excited men, the answer was self-evident……

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